Let it be Random
by Dark Shining Light
Summary: A series of short stories mostly revolving around Natsu and Lucy.
1. Moving Forward

**"Let it Be Random"**

**By Dark Shining Light**

**Characters: mostly Natsu, Lucy, Happy and the celestial spirits**

**Genres will vary**

**Ratings will vary**

**Summary: A series of stories revolving mostly around Natsu and Lucy.**

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Story 1- "Moving Forward"

Pairing: implied Nalu

Rated K+

Summary: one-shot. Lucy realizes that she can't be always be left behind.

Notes: Spoilers if you're not caught up to chapter 420.

(I don't own Fairy Tail)

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…

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_There were no words to describe the happiness I felt that night._

Lucy laughed as she watched another brawl form between the men, only to be stopped by Erza's brute force.

_It had been over a year since we've all seen each other. It was clear that everyone missed one another._

She watched as Cana started another drinking contest with Macao, Wakaba, and Makarov. She wondered if the residents of Magnolia minded having their former guild drunk on the streets. They probably didn't since they haven't gotten a compliant from the mayor.

_I don't know what's going to happen after this night. Will Fairy Tail be established or will everyone go back to what they were originally doing?_

Mira, Lisanna, Levy and Juvia continued to talk to one another. Gajeel had left the bookworm's side to join the fight that formed behind Erza's back. Happy, Carla and Lily discussed the adventures they shared for their partners. Romeo and Wendy were seen talking about their growth as mages.

_Either way. I'm glad to see my family once again._

She looked at the pink haired dragon slayer, who was too busy challenging Laxus to a fight to notice her stare. The girl released a sincere smile.

_And it's all thanks to Natsu._

It was well past two in the morning when the former members of Fairy Tail began to pass out. They weren't ashamed to sleep on the streets. After all, who would be stupid enough to take on the whole group?

The blonde sat awake, not in the bit of least tired. Her eyes skimmed through every person, her grin never diminished as she did. Her brown orbs landed on Natsu's form last; he was completely at ease, snoring blissfully as the minutes flew by. Her heart gave a painful thump.

_Like I said, I don't know what will happen to Fairy Tail next._

She stood up and brushed the dust off her skirt.

_I just know that I won't wait to find out._

Lucy moved down Strawberry Street; the silhouettes of her companions becoming smaller the further she walked.

_I wanted to see everyone once again but I didn't have the courage to do so. After Natsu came back, I got my wish. Everyone came together._

The girl passed her old apartment complex. A tear trailed down her cheek.

_Seeing everyone leave one at a time hurt. I don't know if I can smile again if everyone goes on their own once more._

She turned around; in front of her was Magnolia. From her view she could see the entire city.

_I can't always be left behind_

_Which is why..._

She lifted up her hand into the air, stretching out her index finger and thumb as she did.

_I'll more forward first._

"See you later Fairy Tail."

The tears never left her face but neither did her smile.

* * *

...

...

Meanwhile, spread out across the floor with the rest of his family was a pink haired fire mage. A goofy grin laid across his face as he continued to sleep.

"Lucy..." He mumbled lovingly.

Little did he know that his smile would disappear in the morning.

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**A/N: ****So a lot of people have been requesting that I do my own series of one-shots. I was uncertain about doing this; mostly because I felt if I started doing this I wouldn't be able to write individual complete one-shots anymore. However, I'm always in the mood of writing something new (emotions, inspiration, and requests always come at different times) but I would always have to put it on hold because I felt I needed to write a complete story for it. Sometimes I just want to write a scene but I can't post something like that as a regular one-shot. There needs to be a story or it won't make sense.**

**That's why I'm going to start a series of shorts. This is going to help me write what I'm feeling at the moment and finish my list of requests. (BTW I have a list of 21 stories I want to write -not including my multi-chapters stories- 16 of those are requests and I have only finished six requests and one of my own) You can see why I need this XD**

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**Anyways, moving on- **

**I didn't like the sparring match conversation in Chapter 420. ****This is dialogue I got from Fairy Tail 420 on mangapanda dot com. Natsu tells Lucy that because he can't fight against Gray, Erza and Laxus that she would have to do. Lucy tells him that she has been doing some training and he looks completely unimpressed. She challenges him to spar and that's when Natsu sends a fireball attack between her legs and defeats those three thieves miles away. Afterwards we see a panel with the words "I've gotten quite strong you know" (this is Lucy talking), followed by "Forget it, I've lost interest" (Natsu says this, referring to the sparring match) and it ends with Lucy going "Hey". I found this very insulting.**

**His teammate and someone who he considers precious (Lucy) is willing to fight him even though she's not at his level and he completely brushes her off. I've tried rationalizing that maybe he doesn't want to hurt her but then I think that's stupid because he's Natsu and even if he's way stronger than her, I can totally see him battling her. Heck we've seen that he wrestles with her (remember the German Suplex?) so why not spar? By rejecting her he downgrades her. Then I thought, "well maybe Natsu doesn't want to see how strong Lucy has gotten because if it turns out that she can protect herself just fine then his reasoning for leaving (to protect everyone) would be defeated" However I think I'm giving Natsu too much credit and figure he was honestly being an idiot. If he truly doesn't find Lucy as a worthy opponent we should at least see the hurt on Lucy's face. She was abandoned by mostly everyone in her life in the same week (something tells me she was the last person to leave Magnolia) so hearing that her partner doesn't want to spar with her should sting. I think he's still taking her for granted and won't learn to appreciate her until she decides to leave him. (I could go into depth with this but I don't want to rant for much longer.**

**I was also disappointed that they already found a former Fairy Tail member (Wendy); that means Hiro has completely rushed us into the next arc and now we won't build on Natsu, Lucy and Happy's friendship. (I can go into depth with this as well but I don't want to bore you any longer with my ranting)**

**Anyways I apologize for the long rant. I'm ashamed that there is more If you have anything to say about the newest chapter, leave it in the review or send me a PM. I won't criticize if we have a different opinion :)**

**Until next time**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light **


	2. In the dark

Story 2- "In the dark"

Summary: A father does all that he can for his daughter

Pairing: none

Family

Rated K+

(I do NOT Own Fairy Tail)

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A woman puts on her coat and is about leave when she spots the light of a lamp still on. She sees a large figure still working on his desk. If it wasn't for that light, he would have been engulfed by the darkness.

"Are you closing again Jude?" She asks.

He nods and gives her a small smile. "Yes. I can't afford to rest now."

"Alright. Don't work yourself too hard okay? Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The woman left and Jude was now by himself. He goes back to his work; not at all affected by the loneliness of the large guild. In fact it brings him slight comfort.

It has been four years since Lucy and her friends disappeared. Over 1,460 days since he last saw his daughter.

The thought alone pierced his heart in an uncomfortable manner.

His gaze shifted back to the documents on the table and instantly he began to work. He couldn't afford to stop; Lucy is gone now but she won't be forever.

Minutes later, his hands begin to ache. He stares at them; they're shaking and twitching. His eyes land on the clock hanging from the wall; it reads 12:17am.

He grins sadly; looks like more than hour had actually passed. He rises from his seat and goes to the employee break room. He hopes there will be ice in the fridge.

Jude walks in the dark and reaches the door. When he enters the room, it's filled by moonlight. He's never been happier that they had such a large window before.

The blonde man finds his desired item in the freezer and he sits in front of a table before placing the ice on one of his hands. It stings but he manages.

He looks out the window and remembers the date. It's June 18; Lucy's birthday is coming soon. He wonders what she would like this year. Perhaps a new outfit; she'll need one when she returns.

Small tears form in the corner of his eyes. He releases a shaky breath. The man can't stop thinking about the days in the past. Perhaps when Lucy returns he can think about their future.

His stomach gives a mighty growl. As a reaction, his free arm wraps around it. He dozes off and unconsciously thinks back to another time when he was younger.

He gives a bitter smile. "A rice ball would have been good right now."

When his daughter returns, he'll make sure to treat her to some.

…

…

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**A/N: So the anime and manga (including chapter 421) have been doing a tag team of disappointing me, and for that reason I've been losing interest in Fairy Tail. (This is the main reason why I haven't updated my Nalu multi-chapter stories.) I felt that the only way to regain my passion for Fairy Tail was to think back to my favorite minor character: Jude Heartfilia.**

**This guy is one of the best minor characters of all time! Seriously, if ****there was cover for what Fairy Tail**** character development ****looked like ****this guy****'s face**** would be it! I don't think a lot of people realize how great of a character he was, hence why I'm sometimes heartbroken to see him depicted as only an abusive monster.**

**I can write a whole essay on Jude Heartfillia ****but**** to save you five pages of reading I'll summarize what I like. He starts off as a dedicated husband and soon to be father (think back to the flashback of him and Layla arriving to Love and Lucky guild; he's supporting his pregnant wife.) Once Lucy is born and they're living the good life, he's become a formal business man but still values his family (now think back to Lucy's torn family photo. ****I****t's a very formal family photo. What makes me know that he still loves his family is that he has his hand on the throne. He's not directly touching Lucy but it's still symbolizing that he'll support her. **

**When Layla passes away, he ignores his offspring (Lucy is proof that Layla existed) and buries himself in the world of business. It's his way to cope with her death. He's lived this way for so long that he forgets he has a daughter and treats her like a client. It's only until Lucy confronts him and tells him that she's become independent that he remembers who she truly is. However, he still has pride so he doesn't apologize ****and lets her go.**

**Once he loses his fortune he shallows his pride and goes back to Lucy. We think he's changed but here's the best part; a nasty part of the old him comes out. Notice whenever a villain in Fairy Tail turns good they do a complete 180? Not Jude Heartfillia. That's what makes him SO realistic. People don't change in a day. ****The next time we see him he's trying to fix his relationship with Lucy but it's not enough.**

**Then the seven year gap tragedy happens. For the seven years of neglect he gave his daughter when she was right next to him, he works to provide for her in the seven years that's she not there. Just before he could see her one more time, he passes away. And at the age of 45; that's still young. He overworked himself to death, trying to provide for himself and his missing daughter. ****Lucy and her father's relationship is more tragic than anything.**

**Anyways, t****hanks for reading! And thank you for your amazing reviews**** in the last story****.**** I'll try to do a sequel for it soon.**** I love hearing what you guys have to say so please don't be afraid to tell me how you felt about this one (or my note).**

**Until next time**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light **


	3. There is a Reason

Story 3- "There is a Reason"

Summary: Why Vijeeter is a background character

Pairings: implied Natsu and Lucy

Rated K+

Humor/Romance

(I do NOT Own Fairy Tail)

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'_This is it!' _Vijeeter thought excitedly as he danced his way to Lucy.

'_Good luck.' _Warren told him with his telepathy. Even though he's known the brunt for a very long time he could never get used to it.

But why was the dancing guild member approaching our favorite celestial mage?

You see, Vijeeter has been in the guild for a very long time. He has seen most of his fellow brotherin attract the attention of the female population. Gray had all of Juvia's attention; no doubt about it. Loke always had a girl under his arm whenever he visited. Women constantly talked about how good looking Laxus was. Heck even guys like Natsu, Gajeel and Elfman had girls interested in them.

Life wasn't fair. _'I want a cute girl too.' _He thought with a teary expression.

So he's decided to try his luck with the women; and after seeing Lucy's assets (well more like Gemini but same thing) in the Grand Magic Games, he'd figure he'd try to get with her first.

Plus Natsu was on one of his special requested missions which means he can swoon in, offer Lucy some help with her rent and be the hero.

A heavy blush appeared on his face. He could already imagine her breasts pressed against his chest as she gave him a 'thank you' hug.

And don't Gray and Natsu always say that most of the time she loses her clothing on missions?

His eyes turned into hearts at the thought.

Deciding not to waste time anymore time, he approached the blonde girl. She was reading a book with a smile on her face which mean she was in a good mood.

Before he could open his mouth, a strong arm wrapped around his neck, putting him a headlock. The grip was supposed to be playful but the tightness made him think otherwise. He looked behind him and was surprised to see the pink haired dragon slayer.

"Hi-ya Luce!" He cheered.

"Natsu!" The woman gasped. She looked taken back like he had but a smile appeared on her face. "I thought you were on a mission."

"Nah! I finished early! Super easy! And I'm still pumped!" The fire mage released fire from his breath to demonstrate how energetic he still was. Natsu turned his attention to the mage in his hold. "Oh hey Vijeeter!" He said all too cheerfully. Then very quickly he added, "Fight me!"

"Wah! This is not a dance I want!" He protested as he tried to escape the dragon slayer's grip.

Natsu laughed and released the male. Poor Vijeeter nearly collapsed on the floor.

"Let's go on a mission!" The pink haired teen told the girl.

'_That's what I was going to say...' _Vijeeter cried.

"Well I guess it's never too early to start saving for my rent." She said, mostly to herself. But that didn't seem to affect her partner.

"Yesh!" The fire mage beamed. He quickly snatched the girl's wrist and dragged her to the request board. He could hear Natsu boasting about a mission he just recently saw that would satisfy them both.

Vijeeter sighed in disappointment. So much for having a cute girl.

"You do not know how lucky you are right now." Warren told him and this time out loud. He turned to the man that was now next to him and was puzzled to see his guild mate looking so terrified. "You do not want to see all the different ways Natsu thought of burning you for trying to make a move on his partner."

Now his expression was one of horror. He looked back to Natsu and Lucy. The girl's back was facing him but he could still see the fire mage because he was facing her.

Natsu stopped animatedly talking to the blonde when he felt eyes on him. Seeing who was staring at him, the pink haired male shot him a confident smirk and lit his fist on fire.

Vijeeter yelped and hid behind Warren. He could hear Lucy yell 'what's your problem' and Natsu's cheery reply that he was 'all fired up.'

The 23 year old realized it would be safer if he stayed away from the fire mage and his celestial wizard.

Being in the back wasn't that bad anyways.

...

...

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**A/N: This is a nice change from the gloomy ones huh?  
**

**This was inspired by the time I forgot about Vijeeter. (gasp- I know; who can forget this loveable character). You see, I have a fairy tail bag that has the fairy characters as chibis. I remember my boyfriend started quizzing me and the only one I didn't know was Vijeeter. I brushed him off and said 'oh, he's probably one of those background characters that don't do anything- they just stand there.' Later on, I was reading a fanfic and saw Vijeeter's name and I thought 'who the hell is this?' So I google him and I'm surprised that's the same guy on my bag that I didn't know. Going on Wikipedia I learn that he's actually a reoccurring minor character. I went 'ooops...so he's kinda important after all' and laughed out of embarrassment. And I called myself a Fairy Tail fan back then XD**

**Oh! If you have a Tumblr, feel free to check out mine; it's "ff-darkshininglight." I have a link to mine on my profile if you just want to copy and paste. If you want me to see yours, send me an email with your username please :)**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing the last story. I'm always happy to hear what you guys have to say. No joke- I don't care if it's sentence or a three page essay; I love reading what you guys have to say so please don't stop :D**

**Until next time**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	4. Always There

Story 4- "Always There"

Pairing: none (Lucy and Loke friendship though)

Angst/Friendship

Rated K+

Summary: Thankfully she'll always have her spirits.

Notes: Contains spoilers up to Fairy Tail chapter 422

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…

He left her…

_A flashback to when Natsu left to talk to Igneel._

…He _left_ her…

_The pink haired male never visited her afterwards._

…again…

_His good-bye note was in her hand._

…by herself…

_She remembers crying on the street_

…To face these monsters on her own…

_Their demonic faces: Jackel, Torafusa, and Lamy resurfaced in her head._

Again.

He's _**abandoned**_ her-

"_Lucy!" _She hears Loke's voice in her head. Suddenly she's back in the town with Lyon and the rest of Lamia Scale. She hadn't realized that she was even clenching onto her keys. _"Calm down." _The celestial spirit says.

Her heart is still beating at a rapid pace. Her brain is already calculating different alternatives. What if she can't defeat all the monsters, especially now that Natsu's left? What if the citizens are attacked? What if she has no other options and her spirits tell her that she'll have to break another key-

"_It won't come to that." _Loke states; his voice is strong and determined. _"You've gotten a lot stronger. You've done more with celestial magic than anyone else has done before. You shouldn't let this get to you. And you're not alone. You'll always have us by your side."_

She felt the rest of her spirits, including little Plue, cheering her on. Their positive energy roamed inside her and instantly her troubles melted away.

The blonde girl smiled.

"Thank you." She mumbled.

Toby raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Did you say something?"

She paid no mind to him. It was time for her to fight after all.

"Open-Gate of the Lion! Loke!"

She couldn't always rely on her pink haired teammate; she's learned that.

Her spirits on the other hand were the ones she could always turn to, no questions asked.

They always with her after all.

…

…

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**A/N: Good news everyone! As long as Fairy Tail chapters/episodes continue to disappoint me you'll be getting more of these angst little drabbles! Yay! And to think you were going to get a Romance/Humor involving Lucy and seven Natsus as story four ;)**

**So Natsu leaving Lucy to find Happy, Chelia, Wendy and Carla in chapter 422 have conformed two things for me; one- he really is over future Lucy's death. (He left Lucy by herself to deal with these monsters which makes me know he's not that concerned about her safety anymore. He knows she's strong and trusts her to handle it so he's obviously not expecting a negative outcome for Lucy. If he was still hung over on her death, he'd stay with Lucy to make sure nothing bad happened to her. Yes he didn't leave her alone but if he himself was unable to prevent her death, how could he trust someone else to protect her for him while he's not there?)**

**Second, Lucy never told him about how she had to break Aquarius's key in the Tartarus Arc. If she had told him a year ago, he would have never left or brought her along. But he didn't. A year has passed and I'm certain they still haven't talk about their loses. If he recently discovered that she sacrificed a friend to save her family, you can bet he'd be trying to stop anything that might cause her pain again.**

**I wish we saw more interactions between Lucy and her spirits, especially about what might have happened between them during the year separation from Natsu. I think Hiro himself forgets how important they are. When Layla died, Lucy had her spirits. When she ran away from her mansion, she had her spirits. Before she joined Fairy Tail she had her spirits and after Fairy Tail leaves her she still has her spirits. No offense to Natsu (I'm a big Nalu shipper) but I feel like her spirits should be the ones she cares and trusts the most (even over Natsu.) **

**Hopefully Hiro won't make Lucy into a love-struck girl who can forgive and forget her hero Natsu for leaving her in her time of need. That's the vibe he's giving me anyways.  
**

**I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to reply to some of your reviews. I think I was only able to do half this morning. There are stories to read that I haven't gotten to around yet so please be patient. I'll do my best to review some of your stories, reply to your reviews and emails by Friday. I'm working on a major project so I really need to get this done first. **

**If you want to leave me your thoughts about chapter 422, please do so! Like I said, I'll try to reply by Friday.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH for your patience and understanding. **

**Until next time**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	5. Connections

Story 5- "Connections"

Summary: Keeping track of the former Fairy Tail mages isn't all that Lucy did.

Pairing: implied Natsu and Lucy, Lucy and Lyon friendship

Friendship

Rated K+

Notes: Contains spoilers up to Fairy Tail chapter 422

(I do NOT Own Fairy Tail)

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…

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The entire Lamia Scale guild cheered when Natsu, Chelia, Wendy and the Exceeds arrived back in the city. Everyone shouted warm welcomes and many congratulations on the defeating the master minds behind the attack.

"Those guys were nothing!" Natsu boasted in a victorious manner.

"Wish I could say the same thing." Toby sobbed; he was clearly tired from all the fighting he did.

"Hey…" The fire mage frowned; his eyes skimmed through the crowd yet he couldn't find a certain blonde. "Where's Lucy?"

"And Lyon?" Chelia inquired as she and the other child looked for him as well.

"They said they had some business to take care of." Yuka chimed in.

"Sounds scandalous." The dog like wizard added with a mischievous grin.

"Business? I didn't know Lucy and Lyon had any affiliations." Carla added with a thoughtful expression.

"What do you think Natsu-" Wendy paused when she realized that the other dragon slayer wasn't besides her anymore.

"Where'd he go?"

* * *

They stood outside a closed shop where a dim light hung. The girl reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of papers.

"Sorry this took so long but these are the latest updates." She told him before handing them to the ice mage.

Lyon skimmed through the articles and instantly smiled. "You don't have anything to apologize for. These are magnificent as always. Thank you."

The blonde blushed and unconsciously rubbed the back of her head. "It's nothing; really. You helped me so much by taking care of Wendy and Carla. The least I could do is keep tabs on Gray for you."

Before the male could comment, Lucy exclaimed 'oh yeah' and searched her bag. "I have notes on Juvia too if you'd-"

"No." The quick answer made her look back at him with a confused expression. "These," He held up the papers in his hand. "These are enough. Thank you."

She would have questioned him further if it wasn't for the sincere smile that crossed his face. The girl felt proud that her notes could bring someone so much happiness.

Then slowly, his genuine grin lost its form.

"I must seem like such a coward to you. Rather than find my brother on my own, I come to you for information. It's pathetic isn't it?"

Lucy mirrored his fallen expression. "It's not pathetic. I think it's admirable. You love Gray enough that you won't interfere on his journey but still keep a watchful eye on him. It's not easy accepting someone has left without them telling you why; so for you to push that aside and merely focus on his safety…it's not pathetic at all."

This time, she gave him a genuine smile and the white haired man couldn't help but to return it.

In the distance, they heard Happy call her name and whined that she had to come back since she had the keys to their room. It made the pair chuckle before Lucy waved and wished him a goodnight.

Once she was gone, the ice wizard released a small smirk. "I hope you heard all that." He said out loud. "Perhaps next time you'll think twice about leaving again."

He was certain he heard 'stupid ice mage' but then again his hearing wasn't as great as the dragon slayer's.

Lyon chuckled lowly. In some ways he was, but at least he wasn't hiding behind a wall and most likely to deny his jealousy later on.

The famous Salamander would just have to accept that he had the celestial mage as a connection now. Whether he liked it or not.

...

...

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**A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you've had a wonderful weekend. This is me just doing some wishful thinking. Wouldn't it be awesome if Lucy had not only been keeping track of the former Fairy Tail mages for her sake but for the sake of others as well? We honestly don't know a lot about what happened to Lucy during her one year by herself (so many questions are still left unanswered) so I think it would be neat if she made connections with other guild members. (No offense to Jason but he was the last person I expected to form a friendship with Lucy- so why not other mages?) I can imagine Lucy sending information to Sting and Rogue about Natsu and Gajeel; info on Mira and Lisanna to Yukino, perhaps even the latest news on Erza to Kagura. This most likely won't happen though; like I said, wishful thinking XD**

**Someone asked me in the last chapter what I'm expecting in Fairy Tail that keeps disappointing me. Since it was a guest review I'll put the answer right here. What I expect to see in the manga are little subtle hints (whether it comes from the dialogue, facial expressions, or even proxemics) that will tell me eventually we'll discuss what needs to be said. When I don't see any sign in any panel that will foreshadow this, I feel ripped off. I can go into detail if you want me to in a PM or an email.**

**I'm sorry for the all the friendship/angst and lack of Nalu in these series of shorts. I'm working on a better Nalu drabble that will hopefully be uploaded for White Day (March 14- I'm American but it won't stop me from celebrating another country's holiday!) I'm going to push my luck further by trying to upload something this Friday but we'll see what happens. **

**Before I go I wanted to share something that happened to me a few nights ago (which has never happened to me in my nine years of writing) and I'm curious to see if this has happened to anyone else. **

**About two weeks ago, I read a FT fanfic, liked it and left a positive review. About a week later, I got a reply to my review and it contained Lucy bashing. For a few moments I think the author actually wrote this (which doesn't make sense I know) so I go back to story, see if my review might have offended them in any way and actually find out it was another reviewer who commented on my review (btw the review this person left the author wasn't a good one either). I'm shocked; this isn't YouTube. I email them back and explain in a kindly way why I wrote what I did and my perspective on the issue. They have yet to reply. So I'm curious has this ever happened to any of you?**

**Thanks for reading! I hope I didn't bore you too much but you can always tell me if I did. Don't be afraid to share your thoughts with me on a review; as I've said before, whether it's a sentence or an essay, I enjoy reading all feedback. **

**Until next time**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	6. Don't Listen to 'No'

Story 6- "Don't listen to 'No'"

Summary: Even a two year old has to have his midnight snack.

Pairing: implied Natsu and Lucy, contains an OC

Family/Humor

Rated M (there are people who can read about breastfeeding like it was a 1st grade book; however there are others who are very sensitive about the subject and feel uncomfortable if they see it. Just to be safe I'm making this story Rated M. Just a warning)

Notes: This story was inspired by a guest reviewer, who told me the tale of her son's struggle with being weened after reading my story 'Mischievous Cat' chapter 2. It was hilarious; I loved it and hopefully you guys will enjoy it too. If you didn't read it, my OC Igneel looks exactly like child Natsu and has Lucy's eye color. I think that's all you need to know. Enjoy!

(I do NOT Own Fairy Tail; just the OCs)

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Little Igneel never liked the word 'no.'

(Unless he was using it of course)

'No' was a bad word to the mini Natsu look alike. 'No' meant Mommy or Daddy was being mean. 'No' meant he couldn't fight with his twin brother, Luke nor with his older sister Nashi. 'No' meant he couldn't have more sweets. 'No' meant he couldn't play after dinner. 'No' meant he couldn't go with Mommy and Daddy to some places.

He didn't like 'no.'

But now he REALLY doesn't like it.

Two days ago Mommy said he and Luke couldn't have milk from her anymore. At first, he ignored her. And eventually he forgot (therefore Mommy should have forgotten too) so when he sat on her lap to get a snack and she told him 'no', he was shocked. Then he threw a fit.

A big one.

He didn't care that Daddy was telling him to stop or that Nashi was calling him a big baby. All that mattered was that Mommy was still saying no and he wasn't getting what he wanted. Definitely not fair.

He begged constantly; telling Mommy that he was thirsty wasn't working. And Luke didn't want any more milk (only because Mommy said no more) which meant he was on his own.

He exited his bedroom and tip-toed across the hallway. Once he was outside his parent's bedroom, the two year old peered in.

Igneel heard his father's loud snoring, signaling that he was asleep. Now here was the big question; was Mommy asleep too? Unfortunately Daddy's snoring made it harder to hear. Eventually, he heard his mother's peaceful breathing which told him she was unconscious as well.

He slowly made his way to their bed. They were sleeping on their sides; Natsu's chest pressed against Lucy's back. He had his arms wrapped around his wife's shoulders and was snoring heavily into her ear.

The child giggled. They looked so funny. How could Mommy still be asleep? Daddy's snores were loud like a dragon's.

Then his eyes landed on his mother's chest. The silky dress she was wearing wasn't covering her massive breasts.

The pink haired toddler climbed onto the bed and positioned himself to rest besides his mother's boob. Instantly, his tiny lips locked on her pink nipple and began to suck. It was only a few moments later that he felt the sweet substance go down his throat.

Igneel was happy; FINALLY he had some of his mother's tasty milk. The best part was she was asleep and couldn't say no. Perhaps he could do this every night and Mommy will never have to know.

Slowly his thoughts diminished and he merely focused on drinking to his heart's content. He didn't even realize his mother was waking up, too concentrated with the task at hand.

* * *

The woman grumbled and tightened her eyes. All she wanted was a good-night's rest; was that too much to ask? She takes care of 3 and a half...and another half of children (Her husband and his Exceed were those halves; it was whenever they weren't acting like adults.) Surely she deserved a few hours of sleep. But whoever was helping themselves to her breast weren't letting that happen.

Initially she blamed her husband.

"Natsu!" She hissed. If she was more conscious she would have noticed his snoring…or his arms that were wrapped around her.

"Natsu..." She grumbled louder.

The snoring rapidly stopped.

"What?" He replied tiredly. He was in the same state as his wife.

"Stop it." Lucy said with equal exhaustion.

"What?"

"Suckling on me."

The dragon slayer yawned. "Okay."

It was quiet yet the female still felt the tugging on her breast.

"Natsu!" She hissed angrily.

"What?!" The man whined.

"I said to stop!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop suckling on my breast!"

"Okay!" Natsu rubbed his face against her hair and sighed deeply. A second later, his eyes snapped opened, and he blinked a few times when he understood what his blonde had said to him.

"Wait. But I'm behind you."

She lifted a heavy eyelid open and spotted spiky pink hair. "No…" She argued tiredly, "You're…" That's when she finally felt her husband's strong arms wrapped around her shoulders with his toned chest pressed against her. Her brown orbs widened and she peered down on see the real culprit.

Lying next to her, looking like he was ready to sleep was her pink haired two year son, with his mouth still on her nipple.

"IGNEEL!"

* * *

It was like he said. 'No' was a very bad word. Mommy yelled at him that night and told him all the things he shouldn't do. Daddy had to take him back to bed and locked the doors. They knew he could break them if he wanted to but the point was he would be in bigger trouble than he really was if he did.

Igneel pouted as he laid on his dragon make shift bed. Mommy was really smart. She knew how to make really tasty food and read dragon stories and give hugs and kisses when he wanted them and how to make people come out of nowhere.

But she was being a dummy if she thought he was going to listen to her 'no more drinking from mommy' rule.

He liked her milk so he wasn't going listen to 'No.' He loved his midnight snack too much after all.

…

…

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this one; despite the OC.**

**If not you're in luck! I'll be updating a one-shot tomorrow so keep a look out for that one! It's definitely a Nalu story :)**

**Thank you to everyone who shows their support by reviewing/favoring/following. I appreciate it so much! Don't be afraid to share your thoughts through a review. I don't care if it's a sentence long or an essay, I appreciate all feedback! This includes guest reviews as well :)**

**Enjoy your weekend everyone! And please stay safe!**

**Until next time,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	7. Prequel to 'Savior'

Story - Part one of a Prequel To 'Savior'

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Friendship/Supernatural

Rated T (foul language and violence)

Summary: Who knew that saving a life would change his?

(I do NOT Own Fairy Tail)

* * *

...

...

The pink haired boy devoured the last of his sandwich. He did his best to savor his meal but hunger won over at the end. He should really thank Lasagna or whatever the waitress's name was for the food. It was nice of her to sneak something out the back for him.

He stood up from the ground and pushed his cart towards the exit of the alley. He needed a new place to sleep; not that anyone could ever hurt him on the streets but he would try to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

As he entered a new alley way, this one behind a small shopping center, a frightened man ran past him. The teen shot the guy a bewildered look once he was behind him, still running. "What the..."

"Ah!"

Natsu heard a yell and the sound of a bullet right after. With his excellent sense of smell he sniffed no blood. That made him more edgy; means the person could still be alive. He gritted his teeth; his eyes shifted to his cart and back to the pathway in front of him.

"Fuck!" He cursed before running towards the scream.

When he arrived on the scene, there was a man pointing a gun at a woman who looked around his age. The blond girl looked drained; she was leaning against a large dumpster, very pale but not injured.

"I told ya I wasn't playing bitch! Give me ya money now!" The man with the weapon stated. Much to both men's disbelief she shook her head no.

Sensing someone looking his way, the man turned to the pink haired teen. He looked nervous but kept the angry look. "Get the fuck out of here o i'll shoot ya!"

Natsu locked eyes with the blonde. Her brown orbs held slight fear but mostly concern. She mouthed 'Go' to him.

Well that definitely caught him off guard. He knew he couldn't leave her here now.

He made his way to her, and ignored the shouts of the angry man. The girl gave him a bewildered look. "Don't worry about me." She hastily said. "Go! I'll handle it!"

"No offense lady but you look like you're ready to pass out. I got it." Natsu told her. "But I'm gonna need that dumpster you're leaning on."

She blinked; however she stepped aside and allowed him to stand next to her.

"Thanks." He grinned before swatting in front of the dark colored trash device.

"I'm gonna giva til the count of three to giv me ya money!" The thief shouted. "One, two-"

The man with the gun stopped counting the moment he saw the pink haired boy lift the huge dumpster over his head. Both he and the girl were shocked; their eyes widened drastically and the mugger even started to shake.

"Look buddy I'm losing my patience here. Either you leave her alone or I'm going to toss this thing at you. It's not heavy to me but I know it's not the same with you." Natsu boasted with a confident smirk.

The frightened man looked at the onyx colored eighteen year old, then the object over his head and back to the person carrying it. This time without hesitation, he shot him.

After the sound of the bullet passed, the woman and shooter stared at Natsu in disbelief. There was no injury on his body; the bullet that was supposed to have impale his chest merely crashed against him before its disfigured form fell to the floor.

"Ouch." The homeless boy hissed. "That stung you freak'n bastard!"

Natsu tossed the dumpster to the other man; the mugger barely avoid it. When he realized what had just happened, he stared at the salmon colored teen in fear.

"Now scram!" Natsu stated, his lean body standing strong despite lifting up a four-thousand pound object. "And if I see you trying to hurt someone again," In that second, his hand combusted into flames and a sadistic smirk manifested onto his face. "I'll burn you to a crisp."

The thief dropped his weapon and ran away in terror, screaming as he did.

Natsu grinned proudly, obviously pleased with his performance. He turned to the side and realized that the woman he had saved was staring at him in shock.

Dread filled his stomach; he was uncertain how she would react but he was certain it would be no good.

"Aw shit!" He panicked. "Please don't tell anyone you saw that! I swear I won't hurt you!"

"You just..." The yellow haired girl mumbled in a daze before the words died out.

The male quickly scurried off. He didn't notice that the brown eyed teen had snapped out of her frozen state.

"Hey wait!" She called.

He ran faster but to his surprise, his excellent hearing picked up the sound of footsteps behind him.

'_Don't tell me she's following me!' _He mentally cried.

Soon he heard a body collapse. Instantly his legs stopped moving. He turned around and spotted the same female he just saved on the ground. She groaned in pain; that small action caused his breath to hitch before pity entered his heart.

With hesitation, Natsu approached her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked as he kneeled in front of her.

"Yeah," She breathed. "Sorry, my body still sore from my earlier fight."

'_Earlier fight?!' _He honestly thought she was just out of shape.

The blonde looked up at him and to his surprise there wasn't a trace of fear on her.

"I wanted to say thank you." She continued. "For helping me back there."

"Don't sweat it." The homeless boy grinned. "Anyone would have done the same thing." Then he hastily added. "Helping out I mean! Obviously not the fire hand thing or throwing a dumpster!"

The girl released a silent chuckle before playfully rolling her eyes. "Yeah. I got it."

A silence formed between the two individuals. Natsu awkwardly scratched the back of his head while the brown eyed teen nervously bit her lower lip.

"Would like to come over to my house?!" She blurted out. The superhuman male looked taken back. She blushing slightly before continuing. "I want to thank you for saving me. So please let me treat you to come dinner."

"Wait a minute." He held his hands up as if pausing the conversation. "You want me," He pointed to himself. "A super strong guy you just saw lite himself on fire go to your house and eat your food?"

"It's a thank you gift!"

"...You're a real weirdo."

"Hey!" She pouted with an annoyed look on her face.

The male laughed at her puffed out cheeks. She might be a weirdo but at least she was funny.

"Do you want the food or not?" She inquired with an attitude.

After that question, his stomach released a mighty growl. His laughter died down, and the stranger in front of him gave him a smug smirk.

Natsu crossed his arms before raising an eyebrow. "How do I know you won't poison me or turn me into the cops?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well you said so yourself; you're a strong guy that can light himself on fire. If anything I should be afraid of you." He winced at that statement."But I'm not because I trust you. You just saved my life; should there be any reason to doubt you?"

This time the brown eyed beauty gave him a warm smile and a strange sensation passed though him. It left him slightly shocked, hence why he didn't answer right away.

Deciding he didn't want to look like an idiot any longer, he shook his head 'no.'

"Then you're going to have to trust me." The girl smiled and held out her hand. "My name's Lucy by the way."

The pink haired teen stared at her gesture. Before she could even blink, he high-fived her hand, leaving her in a state of confusion.

He gave her a cheery grin. "My name's Natsu Dragneel. Nice to meet you Luigi!"

"It's Lucy!"

The homeless boy merely laughed again and commented on her 'funny' expression. Lucy sighed before leading the individual back to her car, after picking up his cart of course. They conserved about little things and the blonde learned that he suffered from motion sickness. It was a great start between two individuals who were about to change their lives forever.

...

...

* * *

**A/N: I'm not dead! I'm not- I promise you this!**

**Sorry about the long delays Spring Break...hasn't really been a break since I was called into work on my days off and I've been wasting my time dealing with a gym who won't take no for an answer. Oh! And that angry reviewer that I mentioned in the last short emailed me again and man did they piss me off. I'm posting our conversation as a tumblr post so if you're curious to what they said, you're more than welcome too. I'm not posting the conversation to bash on this individual (their name is censored and so is their profile pic), I'm just using it as an example of what to do if you're ever approached by a hater. **

**Again, I apologize from my long absence. I hope everyone's doing well and is safe and sound and enjoying their days :)**

**So this was is part one of a prequel to a new story I plan on releasing in the future. Part two will be up when I'm closer to finishing 'Savior' (my future one-shot). When I'm close to finishing the one-shot, I'll post a preview on this story. Consider it a perk for following/favoring 'Let it be Random.' **

**Again, thank you so much for your patience and support. I haven't been emailing/reviewing/writing as much as I have in the past so it means a lot that you're still with me. I'm working on 'Your Virtual Reality' chapter 6 as we speak so hopefully that will be up before Monday.**

**If you're on spring break or will be, enjoy your days off. Stay safe and take care,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	8. there was no science

Story 8- "There was no science"

Summary: Lucy realizes there's no way she could have "accidentally" fallen on Natsu's face.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Rated K+

Romance/Humor

Notes: Reference from Fairy Tail episode 180 when Lucy finds herself sitting on Natsu's face.

* * *

...

...

"I don't understand why I'm here." The celestial wizard pouted as she organized the books on the highest shelf. "You were the one who caused all the damages on our last mission; why do I have to help you organize the whole library?"

"Cause we're a team, duh." Natsu answered as he carried a case filled with books. "Where do I put this?"

The girl twisted her body so she could see what the dragon slayer was holding from her high position. "Over there by that other stack."

"Careful," Happy advised from across the room. "Or you might fall and land on Natsu's face again Lucy!" He added with a sly grin.

Her face instantly lit up. "Shut up Happy! That was an accident!"

"Really? Cause it looked like Natsu did it on purpose to me!" He chimed too cheerfully. "He llliiiikkkkeeeeess you!"

"Happy, quit saying things!" The male fire breather stated before knocking over a pile of books. "Shit."

But to the boys surprise, Lucy didn't say anything. She was too lost in her mind, pondering on Happy's words. Now that she thought about it, there was no way she could have just "fallen" on her partner's face.

First of all, they were elevated and Lucy was shorter than the male so there was no way her butt was higher than his head for her to just accidentally fall on top of him. Secondly, no matter what arm he used to pull would have caused the girl to stumble down, not up and again, nowhere above his face. He would have had to been kneeling but obviously he hadn't been. Thirdly, he had to have pulled on her with his right arm to cause her to turn her back towards him. But again, with her height, they would have merely fallen backwards with her head against his. The only possible way she could have landed on his face was if he had picked her as they fell but...that's ridiculous...right?

Then again he did have the strength and speed...

...And it's not like he couldn't have simply lifted her up the moment her butt made contact with his face...

..right?

She turned her attention to the other human and inquired in a suspicious manner. "Natsu, you didn't by any chance lift me up into the air while we were falling right?"

Lucy saw him freeze before he slowly turned around and sent her a fake confused look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Back in the crevice-"

"I don't know what that is."

"When my ass landed on your face-"

"You're being a real weirdo Luce."

"I am not! Did you or did you not lift me so I can land on you!" She yelled.

"Hey, I think I hear Gramps calling! Better go see what he wants! Come on Happy!" The pink haired teen said instead while running out with a bright smile.

"Aye!"

The two ran out before they could hear her protest.

"Get back here! And this is your punishment not mine!"

...

...

* * *

**A/N: Hello! Yes this is not 'Your Virtual Reality' but I'm still working on it. Sorry but it was something I had already done so I hope you somewhat enjoyed this. I'm going to be disappearing from time to time, I thought I'll let you all know. Too many units this quarter plus work AND I'm trying to lose weight and start on cosplays! I'll work on stories whenever I can. Thank you for your patience. I'll do my best to continue reviewing, replying to reviews, replying to emails and just being a part of fanfiction. So don't think I haven't replied to your reviews and messages because I don't care. I do- VERY MUCH!**

**Thank you everyone! Now I'm off to work- take care :)**

**Until next time**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**

**P.S. I uploaded that hater message I mentioned in the last chapter as a Tumblr post. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think!)**


	9. Her Great Demon Lord

Story 9- "Her Great Demon Lord"

Summary: Everyone knew that she belonged to the demon lord; everyone expect her that is.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Romance/Supernatural

Notes: This is the original draft of what was supposed to be 'What Belongs to A Demon'

(Under a court of Law, I do NOT Own Fairy…and sadly it's true)

* * *

…

_She gently tried to escape his embrace._

_However, her actions merely woke up the demon. Sensing that her body was slightly further way, he pulled her naked form back to his. "Where do you think you're going Luce?" He murmured against her neck._

_Ignoring the embarrassment she felt for getting caught, she pouted. "I wanted to see the Rainbow Sakura trees."_

_He sighed before planting a small kiss on her flesh. "You know you can't just yet…"_

_The blonde's eyes shifted to the bed sheets. "I know…just a few more days." She looked back up, giving him a pleading look. "But they'll wilt away on the day of the ceremony. I just wanted to see them this year."_

_He shifted their positions so she was on her back and he hovered over her. He cupped her face with his calloused hand before whispering. "I'll plant you a garden of those trees as long as you stay here; with me where it's safe."_

_She made the mistake of staring at him because now she was memorized by his serious coffee colored eyes; they held nothing but worry and love for her and she knew she had no choice but to obey. "I promise."_

_He gave her a genuine smile: not like the one he uses to show he was teasing or making fun of someone. This one was rare and only reserved for her; it made her heartbeat accelerate. _

_The demon must have heard it because he chuckled and leaned in to mutter against her lips. "It's a good thing we're already naked because I'm all fired up." _

_Her face flushed with color and before she could make a snappy remark, the male planted his lips firmly onto hers. Instantly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she passionately kissed him back. _

_He growled possessively; she moaned in pleasure and the two continued their activities for the next few hours. _

…

* * *

Lucy blinked. The setting was off. The trees of the forest were all black and the tree branches were curled, looking like the legs of a spider when it died.

She ran her hands through the gray grass as she looked up at the red and black sky. This definitely wasn't right.

The girl stood up, stumbling in her heels as she walked. The wedding dress she had on made it so difficult to walk in as well.

"Kya!" She screamed as she slide down an unforeseen slope and landed on her stomach. "Ouch…" The wedding dress definitely wasn't pure white anymore. Speaking of, why was she in the dress. It couldn't be the day already could it?

"Over here Plue! I think I heard something!" She heard a childish voice call.

"Pun!"

In a few seconds a blue cat with wings and a small snowman appeared before her. The cat was obviously flying as he held a lantern and the white creature shook as he stared at her. The blue feline broke into a giant grin.

"We found you Lucy!" He cheered before doing a flip in the air. The little snowman expressed his happiness by dancing.

"KYAAAAAA!" She moved in reverse until her back collided with a tree. "W-who are you? WHAT are you?! How do you know my name?!"

"Wah! Lushi's being mean by saying I'm not special enough to be remembered!" The cat cried in Plue's arms.

"Pun-pun!" The white creature said as he patted his friend on his back.

"That's right," The blue cat turned his sad eyes onto the girl. "You lost some of your memories. Not good…especially since today's the day! Ah! The demon lord is going to be so mad! He won't give me any fish now…"

Unconsciously, she broke into a little grin but quickly shook it away. She shouldn't be distracted by their cuteness. "Who's the demon lord?"

The cat shook his head. "There's no point in telling you if you can't remember. We need to get your memories back! Plue, let's start off with your memory."

"Pun Pun!"

His blue ears dropped. "Oh, that's right. We accidently left it with the demon lord."

"Ok! Enough!" The human said as she stood up from the ground. "Look, if I'm wearing a wedding dress than it means its July 7th. Can you just tell me where the nearest town is so I can get back home? My dad's going to kill me if I'm not back in time"

The cat frowned. "But Lucy it's not July 7th. It's October 31."

Her eyes widened. "No way! That can't be true!" There's no way four months could have passed by without her knowledge. They had to be scheming something.

"It's true! You're missing your memories so you can't remember! And we need to find them by the end of this day or the demon lord is going to be furious! Be the way, I'm Happy and this is Plue!" He said.

She nodded; she wanted to believe what they were saying was true but logic that this can't be real kept interfering. The blonde looked over at the two creatures before noticing that the white one was transparent now. "Is he okay?" She inquired with unreasonable concern.

Happy turned to Plue. "It's okay Plue. You can rest now."

"Pun!"

He disappeared; in his place was a silver key. Lucy took a step back. "What…what happened?"

The cat picked up the silver key and placed into a strange keychain brown bag. "Plue's a spirit and sometimes, even in our world, they lose their energy so they go back to the item they possess; most of the time it's a key. Here Lucy! I brought it with me so we can put all the spirits' keys in here when we get your memories back from them. They really like you!"

With caution, she took the bag from Happy and let out a breath of relief when nothing happened.

"Let's hurry! The others must have found the keys by now!" He said before expanding his wings and took off into the air. He looked back at her, looking impatient when he saw she wasn't following him. "Come on! I know you're heavy but that's no reason for being slow!"

"CAN IT YOU STUPID CAT!"

She gasped and covered her mouth. Where had that come from? The girl looked at him with narrowed eyes. This cat wasn't making any sense. Yet what were her choices? Stay here or follow the blue creature. That's about it. There wasn't much she could do on her own so….

"Okay! I'm coming sheesh…"

She chose to follow him.

…

…

To be Continued?

* * *

**A/N: Major thanks to all the people that reviewed my last short. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to reply to all of you personally but please know that I appreciate it every time you leave me your comments :)**

**Here's a shout out to my last reviewers:**

**Sawakaze-Steph16, jerzabel1971, DestinysRequiem, **

**Gh0st's buddy, rebma726, ForeverDreamer12,**

**Twishadowhunter, PurseMonger, DanceswithSeatbelts,**

**NaLu x Buckets, Guest, Guest, Yumi-kii**

**Brokenangelsely, Ryoujin, Ayumi Yoona Heartphilia, **

**AnimexFreakz 0.o, RichardianScholar Clark-Weasley, **

**and PeachisPerf**

* * *

**Like I said, this was the original draft and idea for 'What Belongs to a Demon'. However, do to the lack of time I was unable to finish it. I just thought you guys would like to see what. I have other scenes done if you're curious about the story. **

**I just published chapter 6 for Your Virtual Reality and I'm publishing 'What Dolls do to a Man' on Tumblr once FT Angst week is done. I may or may not write something for the event, depending if I have time. Name is 'ff-darkshininglight' so please be sure to find me there. I'm going to try this new thing of when I write a story, I have an art piece to go with it. Hopefully it works out! Again, thank you all for your amazing support! **

**Take care my friends**

**Until Next time**

**Dark Shining Light**


	10. Puppy

Story 10- "Puppy"

Summary: Sometimes a man will do what it takes to please his daughter.

Pairing: Slight Layla and Jude. Mostly Heartfilia moment feels.

Family/Humor

Notes: This is an extended version of a scene from my story "Memory Stones." This short is also found on Tumblr for FT Fluff Week!

(Under a court of a law, I do NOT own Fairy Tail...and sadly its true)

* * *

...

...

Six year old Lucy sat in the book section of the store. An enormous amount of master pieces surrounded yet her eyes were locked on the single book in front of her.

"Lucy."

She turned around and spotted her mother and father by the cashier. "Have you chosen your book?" Layla inquired.

"Ah-huh!" The child answered brightly before rushing to their side and handing her mother the book.

"I remember this story." The older woman stated with a gentle smile. "Milth Fable. It was one of my favorites growing up."

The child beamed. She was more excited to read her newest book with her mother now.

"It's a decent story." Jude said with a shrug. "Though there are better pieces of literature than that silly tale."

Layla pouted and lightly smacked her husband's shoulder. "Hush you. I will not have my daughter corrupted before reading the book herself." Little Lucy giggled as she watched her mother scowl her father.

The man paid for their items and soon the servants that accompanied them took their purchases to the carriage. Once the last servant exited the shop, the family joined them in their destination to their carriage.

"Mama!" The small girl said before holding onto her mother's hand. "I a princess right?"

"In a sense you are sweetheart." The older woman replied gently.

This caused the girl to smile brighter. "And mama is queen and papa is king!"

"It's fair more complex than that Lucy dear." Jude commented once their items were packed. After seeing his daughter's confused stare, he merely grinned. "But…yes, you are correct. I am king of the household and you are a princess."

"Yay!" The youngest blonde cheered. "Like in the fairy tale!"

Layla ruffled the child's hair before sending her husband a soft smile. "Perhaps we should walk around the town a little longer. It has been so long since the three of us have spent the day together."

Lucy nodded rapidly; however the tall male frowned. "Layla, you know the doctor said-"

"The doctor won't mind if I spend an extra few minutes outside with my family." She replied. She took Lucy's hand into hers and the two girls walked down the sidewalk. Jude sighed before giving instructions to the servants to wait for them at the end of the street. Once they agreed to follow his orders, he caught up to his family. Many things should have caught the girl's attention yet the youngest blonde looked at her parents instead.

"Mama, papa I need a prince!" She said joyfully.

Both were taken back. "Why would you need one sweetheart?" The mother asked.

She raised an eyebrow at her parents. "Princesses always have a prince!"

"Nonsense; you are too young for that." Jude commented. "You don't need a prince, especially with daddy here."

Besides him, Layla giggled. "I'm afraid you father is right Lucy. You're too young right now for a prince. Besides he might try to kiss you?" She added with a wink.

"Eww..." Lucy whined. The older blondes laughed at her expression.

"Then…then can I have a dragon? Princesses always have dragons!" The child argued.

"Now Lucy you're being ridiculous." Her father scoffed. The girl displayed a heartbroken face after hearing those words. Layla shot her husband a dirty look before kneeling in front of their daughter.

"What your father means is dragons can't be bought. They are free creatures that love to fly around and have adventures. Also, all the dragons are protecting something special and they can't come over to play just yet. Do you understand sweetheart?"

"Ohhhh…. Like their babies?" The small girl inquired.

Her mother laughed. "Yes. Like their babies."

The young blonde smiled cheekily. "I get it Mama."

Jude watched the interaction with a slightly heavy heart. It always amazed him how his beautiful wife always knew what to say to their child, and yet he…

His attention drifted to the sign of a store just a few blocks ahead. The man grinned but quickly hid it behind a cough.

"Lucy."

She turned her head to where her father was standing. He offered her his hand. "Will you accompany me to a certain shop?"

The six year old smiled. "Ok Papa!"

Lucy took his hand and both parents shared a look. After a short moment, Layla said that she would wait for them at the carriage. The tiny blonde wanted to protest but after being reassured that they would do more exploring later, she gave in and followed her father.

The two walked a few more steps before they entered a small shop. The first thing she noticed was all the different barks and flaps of the birds in the faculty. A few people cornered certain areas of the store.

"Puppies!" The child squealed as she can towards a group of dogs. They were all the same breed yet each one was a slightly different color. She laughed as she moved around the cages, loving how willing these creatures wanted to play with her. She moved more to the side and spotted a young white dog sleeping. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'O.' She was amazed how something so large could still be labeled as a puppy.

"Papa look! This one big!" She said as she pointed to the sleepy fluffy creature.

The business man, who had been looking pleased for making his child happy, kneeled besides her. "Yes he is. I wonder what breed he might be."

"They're big dogs!" She offered. The eldest Heartfilia chuckled but agreed.

They stayed quiet for another minute.

"Lucy…" Jude began. "I know I can't get you a dragon like you hoped. Trust me, I wouldn't want nothing more but for my daughter to always be protected. But until we meet a dragon, perhaps one of these dogs can be your friends? Would you like that?"

She gasped loudly but her eyes twinkled with excitement. "Really Papa?"

He nodded. She squealed once again and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "Thank you…" She mumbled. He swore his heart could have burst from happiness then.

"Anything for my little girl." The male responded. She let go of her father and pointed at the still-sleeping white dog. "I want this one!"

Jude smiled. "Of course. Have you chosen a name?"

Lucy grinned brightly. "Ah-huh! Plue!"

"…How about an actual name?"

"….Pedro?"

"….We'll ask your mother…"

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**A/N: Major thanks to my last reviewers:**

**LnknInsanity, RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley, Sawakaze-Steph16**

**Yumi-kii, NaLu x Buckets, Gh0st's buddy, Mira.S,**

**ForeverDreamer12, Akela-Nakamura, ForeverDreamer12,**

**Space Dust, DancesWithSeatbelts, nicole143mb, **

**Twishadowhunter jerzabel1971, rebma726,**

** fairyglitter101, Ayumi Yoona Heartphilia**

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**I hope this extended version adds more to the scene. If you're disappointed that this isn't a Nalu story don't you worry because I plan on updating one more short for FT Fluff Week and it will be Nalu. Well I better get started then XD**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favored/followed ANY of my work. I'm sorry I haven't been sending emails to the reviewers to personally thank them; just know that I'm always reading your comments and they're always making my day. It does mean a lot that people are willing to put up with my crappy work and even wait for school to end (6 more long bloody weeks) to get more updates. Thanks everyone :)**

**Until next time,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	11. The dreadful Author's Note

**Hello everyone; I know an Author's Note is the last thing you want when a writer/reader has been missing for like a month. I don't like leaving these but you guys deserve to know why I haven't written anything in awhile.**

**The truth is I'm going on hiatus.**

**It's not that I'm too busy to write; my schedule is actually opening up as the end of my quarter is approaching. I'm just losing interest in Fairy Tail.**

**It's been like this since the beginning of the year. Around March, I stopped watching the anime because I said enough is enough with the bad animators. Now I'm just becoming disappointed in Hiro Mashima. Every week, rather then growing inspired, I'm displeased with how the story is going and I get into a foul mood. Sometimes I'm in a positive mood; I write a little, then I read the newest chapter and I lose interest in writing romantic/fluff. I think if I continued writing with my current feelings you would only get a series of angst so I won't put you through that misery.**

**I know I'm the only one that feels this way. I go on Tumblr or read the author notes of a story and everyone is happy and satisfied with how the story is going. I'm the only one who sees plot holes, think Lucy's character is going down the drain or how some of the 'nostalgia' moments are just not realistic.**

**I'm tired of being the nuisance in the community. I won't be the rain in your parade anymore. You won't have to worry about me ranting for a long time.**

**To all the people that have stuck with me so far, thank you. I don't know how you've lasted with me for so long but seriously; thank you! It probably won't be weeks (worst case scenario- months) until I start writing humor/romance stories again (I'm hoping to be back for Nalu week though but there are no promises). If I usually review your stories (I know I've already behind), I'll try to review them when I have the right words to say. Same goes with any personal messages; I'll try to reply asap. If you're a person that continues to leave me wonderful reviews, then thank you because your words motivate me to try a little harder everyday.**

**Again, I'm sorry for being a disappointment. I'll try to find the light again in Fairy Tail so I can re-join the fandom. Thank you for your patience.**


	12. This Side of Me

Story 11- "This Side of Me"

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Romance/Humor

Rated K+

Summary: Natsu is a cursed boy who turns into a cat when he touches someone of the opposite sex...but that doesn't stop him from constantly hugging Lucy.

Notes: Loosely based off Natsuki Takaya's _Fruits Basket. _It's about an orphaned girl who after some unfortunate events decides to live with a few classmates. Shortly after she discovers that they are cursed to transform into an animal after touching someone of the opposite sex. But that doesn't stop our protagonist from befriending them and even falling in love.

(According to a court of law, I own no rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly it's true)

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"You're an idiot," Lucy scolded as she power-walked through the streets.

The pink cat in her arms rolled his eyes before nuzzling against her large breasts. "You always say that." He answered back.

She gritted her teeth but didn't say anything as they passed a group of students. The male didn't seem to notice; too content with his position to care about his surroundings.

Lucy couldn't understand what went through Natsu's head. He's a teenage boy who is cursed to turn into a cat whenever he is hugged or hugs someone of the opposite sex (however this doesn't apply if he hugs other cursed family members) yet he constantly embraces her, not seeming to give a damn if he transformed.

Normally she wouldn't have a problem with this (she'll never say this out loud though) but when it occurs in public she nearly loses it. Lucky no one ever sees Natsu change into a cat but it's still embarrassing to have to pick up his clothes as people suddenly appear.

They walked past a street and Lucy fought the urge to walk in the opposite direction. The two teens regularly go to a restaurant/bar named Fairy Tail. The owner only allows members of Natsu's cursed family and very close friends to enter. To them, Lucy was an outsider but she grateful that despite not being part of the family, they treated her like she was. They really were a lovely group of people but quite the gossipy kind (not that she had a right to judge) but today she didn't feel like being teased, which is why she decided it would be best to go straight to Natsu's house.

They reached the end of the town and walked into the forest. It was this time that she peered down to her chest and spotted her feline friend fast asleep.

A gentle smile broke her annoyed scowl. He was troublesome but she couldn't deny that he was kind of cute.

Once she reached Natsu's small home, the girl shifted the cat into one arm so that she could use her free hand to open the door.

The door opened,cracking as if demonstrating it's old age with the sound. It was small and cozy and really like a one room apartment. It's definitely been a lot cleaner since Lucy moved in though.

She made her way to Natsu's hammock. Her intention was to place her resting friend on his make shift bed but the moment she was near, a small blue head popped out and meowed.

"Kyaaaaaahhhhh!" Lucy screamed, momentarily forgetting about the cat in her own arms. Gravity took over quickly and Natsu collided with the wooden floor.

"Lucy! What the heck!" The salmon colored feline yelled. He clearly wasn't happy with being dropped on the floor. If he had been awake he could have landed on his four feet, but he obviously hadn't.

Becoming quite offended, the high school girl glared back. "It's not my fault. Blame your stupid cat for scaring me!"

The other cat hissed at her as if he understood her comment. He even meowed to Natsu!

"Happy's right; you shouldn't blame things on him just because you're clumsy." He told his female friend.

"I am not clumsy!" Lucy snapped as she marched over to her mattress. She almost tripped over a dumbbell (causing the two cats to snicker) but one glare shut them up. The girl plopped onto her low bed, realizing just how tired she was.

She closed her eyes and the moment she did, she felt a new weight on her stomach. Lucy groaned, clearly vexed.

"Natsu, no" The blonde propped herself up with her elbows. Then she slid a hand under the feline's stomach and tossed him gently to the side. Her classmate landed on his paws and quickly rushed back to her side.

"But Lucy," He meowed. "I want to take a nap."

"Then go on your hammock." With that, the girl turned her back to him. Natsu pouted but jumped on her side, causing her to squeal and lay on her back once more.

"But you're so soft and comfy." The teenager commented when he was on her stomach again. "And you're the only I can do this with anyways."

She blushed at his words. It was true; there was no one else he could really cuddle with in his cat form. Touching a guy wouldn't cause him to transform (which is probably why he took advantage of this and tried to fight any guy he considered worthy) and the girls in his family were also cursed so he couldn't cuddle with them in this form either. Not that it made sense to her to begin with; wouldn't he want to cuddle with someone in his human form? That's definitely more appealing (and romantic she added in her head). She'd be devastated if she had a curse that never allowed her to touch cute boys.

"I don't get why you would want this anyways. Don't you want to cuddle with girls in your regular body?" Lucy inquired.

"Nah. Unlike the other bastards, I like changing into my animal." He stated. The girl merely rolled his eyes at his response. "And when I'm with everyone else, I can't change into it, even if I wanted to. It's funny how we're cursed but we forget that when we're together..."

Though he had been talking about his family, the memories he was remembering caused his eyes to look more distant and depressed. Seeing such a sad expression on her friend's face caused the girl to feel a sharp pain in her own heart. Instinctively she ran a hand through his fur.

Natsu purred in response. The blonde smiled and even if his tiny breaths were tickling her, she continued to gently pet him.

"When you're with us," He continued, only more sleepy like. "We remember we're not normal..." She would have stopped and pulled away if he hadn't continued. "But I think that's okay...because someone other than us think it's okay to be who we are..."

With his eyes closed, he muttered one last sentence that the brown eyed student wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear or not.

"...someone else... likes me in my cat form too..."

Lucy stopped stroking his back; not that the boy noticed since he was fast asleep. His soft purrs were the only thing breaking the silence but she didn't mind as she reflected on everything he just told her.

She's talked to other cursed members and they seemed to hate their animal form, only because it limited their interaction with the world. But Natsu liked being able to change into a cat; it was unique and not something she minded. However, the problem was the if showed the outside world this ability, certainly they would reject him. Many would probably take advantage of his changing ability, whether it was to embarrass or straight out hurt him. He'd be bullied and the world of science would demand an explanation.

Lucy understood why he couldn't show anyone; however it still saddened her that her friend had to hide an identity that he's accepted because the rest of the world would not allow him to be different.

Anger boiled within her; it was not directed towards the boy on her stomach, but at those who would even think of doing him harm. She would protect him.

The blonde slowly lifted herself off the bed, careful not to disturb her classmate's rest. Seeing him at ease caused the girl to smile.

"Human or cat...you'll always be Natsu..." Lucy mumbled. "That's all that matters to me."

She collapsed back onto the mattress. A moment later she heard the sound of tiny paws jumping on her bed. She felt something nuzzle against the side of her face and she rolled her eyes when she realized it was Happy.

"Yes, you can cuddle too." She stated dramatically. He meowed before settling by her hip. Happy released a content purr before he went to sleep as well.

Lucy released a soundless laugh; she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift on her best friend; a boy who could turn into a cat and trusted her enough to show her this form.

She softly grinned; a boy who could turn into a cat...

...and she's accepted this side of him.

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...

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**A/N: Hello everyone. It's been so long. Again I apologize to my hiatus...it was just something that needed to done. I want to thank everyone for their encouraging and supporting words. Believe it or not, it was your messages that made me return back to fanfiction. I've been meaning to send everyone a private message to personally thank them but life has kept me busy. To be honest, the only reason I was able to write this was because I injured my back and I didn't go to work for three days. I'm still going to try to send emails; it just might take longer since I'm returning to work today.**

**Thank you once again; if you like this crossover between Fairy Tail and Fruit Basket, please let me know. I've been meaning to write more scenes about this AU but I waned to get everyone's opinion first. Don't hesitate to give criticism; I'm probably rusty from not writing for too long and I'll only improve if people point out my mistakes.**

**That's all for now. Happy Nalu day everyone!**

**Your friend,**

**Dark Shining Light**


	13. Just A Tiny Situation

Story 12- "Just a Tiny Situation"

Summary: Natsu sees that his team has been shrunken which means it's up to him to watch over them.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy, minor Team Natsu feels

Humor/Romance

Rated T (mild language)

Notes: Inspired by one of Tumblr user geghanush's sketches. The link will be listed on the bottom.

(I do NOT Own Fairy Tail)

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_Natsu had no idea what the hell had just happened. _

_He swears on Mavis's grave that one minute he was catching this really awesome gigantic fish and the next he was in Lucy's apartment, staring down at his four shrunken teammates. _

_They (referring to Lucy, Happy, Gray and Erza) were TINY! Probably no bigger than the size of his index finger. Normally he would have loved to tease them (and possibly challenge Erza and Gray in their newest forms) but surprisingly they were fine with the transformation. _

_The pink haired teen didn't even get to question what happened when they decided to run in different directions._

_Finding Happy had been the easiest; his little buddy had flown to the fridge. After seeing him struggle to open the refrigerator door, the dragon slayer had no problem opening it for him instead. In the middle of the fridge, shining as it was the most heavenly item in the world, was a tower of fresh fish (on a plate of course)._

_The blue Exceed drooled before driving into the pile. Natsu laughed but figured it might be safer to remove him from the refrigerator before Happy caught himself a cold._

_After carefully placing the plate onto the counter, the drawer beneath him started to shake._

"_What the-" The male leaned forward, ready to inspect what was making the noise when the drawer nearly smacked his face instead._

_He yelped and now stood a foot away from the small kitchen cabinet. Not a second later, little Erza appeared from the drawer while holding up a large butcher knife. "This would make a fine sword!" She stated with stars gleaming in her eyes._

_The normal-sized teammate, who was now backed up against another cabinet (Erza with any weapon was a bad combination), noticed that her attention was now directed to him._

"_W-whatever you say Erza!" He blurted out. Natsu back-petaled away from the scene (she was scary enough when she was normal and there was no way he wanted to he stabbed to death); however he was unaware that Gray made the floor into an ice-ring. _

_The moment his foot touched the ice, he slipped and fell. The salmon-colored haired boy groaned as his mind tried to figure out what the heck just happened. He heard laughing from the ice-prick and instantly knew it had something to do with him._

"_Gray! You bastard!"_

_Fortunately for the ice wizard, Natsu became distracted when he heard the sound of running water coming from the restroom. He figured it might be Lucy taking a shower and was going to let it slide when he remembered her new size. _

"_AH SHIT! SHE'S TINY!" _

_He rushed to find her; he was determined to stop his blonde companion from hurting herself. When he reached the bathroom, he spotted the chibi girl already in the tub. However there was clearly too much water as she struggled to keep her head up._

_Natsu ducked down and pulled his teammate out of the water. _

"_What the hell Lucy?!" The dragon slayer snapped. "You could have drowned!"_

"_S-s-sorRY!" She stuttered. He ran a hand through his pink locks as he tired to calm his worrying heart. The boy then noticed his friend's shivering form. Her little arms wrapped themselves around her body and her teeth quivered none-stop. Now that he realized it, the water must have been freezing since the only nuzzle on was the cold one._

_The tall male frowned; he didn't like seeing her suffer. Without having to think about it, the dragon slayer placed his little friend into his scarf where he knew she would be safe. _

_However he wasn't expecting her to release a breath of relief. She smiled all cutely and snuggled against the white fabric. _

"_Mmmm...Warm..."_

_Natsu blushed; he was too distracted with the lovely blonde that he failed to notice that his other shrunken team mates were now on him._

_Gray hung from his jacket; obviously pissed that he had to walk all the way over to him. Happy was propped on his shoulder. The blue feline grinned mischievously as he watched his two friends. No one knew how Erza got on his head; merely that she hung by one of his spikes as she observed the scene with a flushed expression. _

_His eyes only focused on how Lucy turned to look at him once again; the warm smile still on her face. _

"_Natsu..." _

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"Natsu!" The male's black orbs snapped opened. He shot up (which was a terrible idea) because the moment he did he fell off his hammock and into the floor.

As he grumbled, Happy flew above him. "Natsu! Get up! We're going to be late for our mission. Then we'll never hear the end of it from Lucy!"

'_Mission?' _He thought as he rubbed his throbbing head. When the dragon slayer recalled all the details from yesterday's events, he realized what his best friend was talking about. "Oh right! The mission!" He sprung onto his feet. "I'm all fired up now!"

"Aye sir!"

As he grabbed his bags and marched out the door with his flying companion, he forgot all about his dream and merely focused what would happen today.

If he would have remembered then he mostly would have brought up to Lucy. It's a shame that he didn't remember. After all, unbeknownst to anyone, she had a similar dream as well.

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**Link to Geghanush's imagine - geghanush . Tumblr post /127565616012/ do-you-remember-mashimas-art-where-lucy-is (remove all spaces)**

**Link to Hiro Mashima's imagine to get the ending - **

** lucy-chii . Tumblr post /119185385359/fairy-dorks (remove all spaces)**

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**THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR FABULOUS REVIEWS! I didn't think so many people would like that crossover! It was great seeing you guys like it :)**

**I'm sorry I was unable to send everyone a personal message to thank you but I'm giving you all a shout out here and answering your commentary. **

**Kisstheskyx **(I'm glad you were able to enjoy the story even if you haven't watched it. I'm sure you'll like though- it's filled with humor and romance! Thank you :) )

**DancesWithSeatbelts **(Yay to finding another Fruits Basket lover! Hehehe thank you and yes, that's Natsu in this story lol)

**Jezabel1971 (**Another Fruits Basket lover! I'm really happy to hear that you liked this work ^^ of course- I can't leave Happy out of the story; he and Natsu will still be friends :) Thanks again!

**Gh0st's buddy (**I know right? Lol Cat Natsu is awesome!)

**DestinysRequiem **(-joins in the fangirl squealing- I'm proud to say it's part of my childhood too. And yes...I had too...poor Natsu...but he has Lucy lol )

**OgaxHilda **(It's an adorable anime isn't it?)

**Melime14 **(Thank you and I'll do my best to get another story like this out)

**Sawakaze-Steph16 **(Hehehe ^^ more fangirls! I definitely have more ideas so I'll try to do another one by next month :) )

**RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley **(You got their names right! and I would consider doing a multi-chapter fic. I'll try to get around to it when I have the chance. :) )

**JeanBeanBubbles **(Thank you :D and the same goes to you! I want to write more of your works!)

**Kmilakey **(Awww thank you! It's one of my favorites too! I'll do my best to continue updating! :) Thanks again )

**Twishadowhunter **(Thank you and I'll look at it later tonight :) )

**NaLu x Buckets** (Thanks and if you find these mistakes don't be scared to point them out :) Until next time!)

**Guest **(Thank you and I'll do my best to make it happen!)

**HolyChihuahua **(Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed it :) )

**Akela-Nakamura **(Thank you for being so understanding...but luckily my back is better! Exactly! That's Natsu for you lol And yes- please do Natsu... XD)

**Andysfire **(Thank you! I'll do my best to make it happen!)

**Elyse . hyland **(Awwww I'm glad I did justice for both series :) )

**Yumi-kii **(I'll do my best to start a multi-chapter with this AU :) )

**Obsessedwithnalu** (It is lol yes- I just see Natsu as a guy who tries to makes things positive...which is why he likes his form more than Kyo did. I wonder that too lol)

**Harp Seal** (Thank you for your honesty! I was actually thinking the same thing! Originally I was going to have Mira appear in a flashback and explain everything instead but I figured it would be more confusing this way since it's a small AU. Thank you again though!)

**DeathTheGirl13 **(Thank you ^^ and I'll do my best to get another chapter out)

**Yuyui Hime **(I'll try lol)

**MyFangirlingWays **(well that is a cute image lol- SPOILERS- he turns back into a human after a few seconds (minutes?) as long as he isn't touching anyone of the opposite sex. Hope this helps :) )

**Ayumi Yoona Heartphilia** (Thank you so much Ayumi-chan! I appreciate your continuing support!)

**Ryuoujin** (It is lol I can totally see your POV. Email me whenever you can :) )

**Darlingdanielle **(for story 2 and 11- Thank you for both reviews! If you ever want to talk about the series, feel free to email me here or on Tumblr :) )

**Mia** (story 1- I have been thinking about it so I'm happy for your feedback :) )

**Minakoaino **(story 1- Thank you ^^ I'm really happy to hear you like my writing)

**Sasusakubelong4ever02** \- (Thank you and I love your name :D )

**Aranae9523 -** (Let's fangirl together :D)

**Nora (**Thank you Nora for reviewing so much of my work. I loved hearing what you had to say about them!)

**Toomuchfannotenoughgirl** (Thank you and same here (for both couples lol) I'll try to write more in the near future)

**Sohaibaafra6062 **(Thank you!)

**Thank you so much everyone! I'll make this note really quick since you're probably fed up already. Next month I'll be posting more stories; 1-2 stories for Nalulove week, a new Fruits Basket x Fairy Tail crossover chapter, and (cross your fingers) What Belongs to a Demon chapter 2. **

***Bows head repeatedly* Thank you for your patience and your wonderful reviews! Please follow me on Tumblr if you haven't already (name is ff-darkshininglight); I'm taking a digital arts class which means I'll be posting lots of Nalu art on that site. **

**Thanks again (don't you get tired of this?) and stay safe everyone! **

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light **


	14. Her Great Demon Lord part two

Story 13- Her Great Demon Lord (part 2)

Summary: Everyone knew she belonged to the demon lord; everyone expect her that is.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy; Happy and Lucy friendship

Romance/Supernatural

Notes: You should probably read_ story 9 _(Chp 9) to get a better understanding of what's happened if you haven't already.

(Under a court of law, I own NO rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly it's true)

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_July 1__st__; today was her birthday and instead of spending it with her servants like she did every other year, she currently sat in a conference room with her father to her left and an ugly gentlemen across from her._

"_As you can see here, my daughter is a beautiful, healthy woman who can provide strong heirs for our companies."_

_He smiled creepily but the girl had to hold her tongue__, no matter how much she wanted to lash out at the two men._

"_I can see her as my wife." The gentleman spoke. "Prepare the wedding by the end of the week and you have yourself a deal."_

_Jude Heartfilia smiled as he shook his hand. Then his co__ld__ eyes turned to his daughter. "Lucy, you will marry this man and provide a strong and brilliant heir for the Heartfilia Konzern. Understood?"_

_With her gaze on the table, she muttered. "Yes sir…"_

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Happy led her to a river, his eyes trained on the water as if searching for something.

"Hey, slow down!" She huffed. "You know how hard it is to walk in a dress like this?"

"Are you sure it's not that you might a little fat?"

"SAY ONE MORE FAT JOKE AND I"LL RIP YOUR WHISKERS OFF!"

"WAHHH Lushi's scary!" The cat stopped his teasing when he spotted his desired object in the water. "There it is!"

Lucy looked down and spotted a golden key caught between two rocks..

"Get it Lucy, get it!" Happy chanted.

"Why don't you?" She challenged him; after all she didn't quite trust the blue thing yet.

"I'm a cat, well an Exceed actually, so I don't want to get my fur wet." He explained while still flying in the sky.

She pouted but leaned over the edge anyways and reached for the key.

"WHO DARES PUT THEIR HAND IN JUVIA?!" Soon a large portion of water sprouted into the sky, scaring the blonde.

Hovering over the river was a curvy woman. She had no color for she was composed of pure water. Yet Lucy could still make out the large sharp eyes this person had. Those same eyes turned to the blonde. Lucy shrieked.

That didn't seem to have any effect on the water woman. "Ah Former love rival!" She squealed before embracing the human. However, she merely went through and drenched the poor girl.

"Ah! Juvia is sorry!" She panicked.

After seeing how sincere the water person was, Lucy gave her a smile; a little shaky one but a smile none the less. "It-it's o-okay."

The other woman blinked and turned to the flying blue cat. "Why does former love rival act like this?"

"Lucy really did lose her memories..." He answered.

Juvia gasped. "That's terrible!" To Lucy's surprise, she glared at her instead. "That means you will become Juvia's love rival once more! Be warned that though you are Juvia's friend, she will not hand over her precious Gray-sama to you!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THAT IS!"

Happy sighed before flying in front of the water woman. "We wanted to know if Aquarius managed to get one."

A second spurge of water erupted from the river, bigger than the first and this time it scared both visitors. It was another woman; she was a beautiful mermaid but had a nasty snarl on her face. Just like Plue she was also lightly transparent. "Did you think I couldn't do such a stupid task, huh?! Did you cat?!"

"A-Aye-no mam!" Happy yelped before hiding behind the blonde. She and the water girl were both afraid.

"H-hey don't hide behind me!" The brown eyed girl instructed.

"And you!" The mermaid pointed at Lucy, causing her to flinch. "How stupid can you be to get yourself kidnapped, then lose your memories before disappearing all together?! Do you enjoy making us worry, do you brat?!"

"NO MAM!" Was her automatic response; anything to stop the scary woman from yelling.

Aquarius 'che'ed before waving her hand and pulled out a white orb. She shoved it to the human's hands. "Here...take this and my key and leave..." The spirit gave her a menacing look which Lucy unconsciously shrieked to. "Lose either of these and I'll drown you in the river! Got it?!"

"Aye!" She and Happy yelped.

Then in one swift movement, Aquarius managed to make the river look like an ocean before sending a giant wave to the human and cat. Both screamed as the water dragged them away into the forest. They could barely hear Juvia's "good luck love rival" as they faded away.

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To be Continued?

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**A/N: As always major thanks everyone that follows and favors any of my stories. I'm especially thankful to everyone that left reviews. I'm sorry I'm not responding, especially when so many people leave good feedback or just make wonderful comments. I'll always give you a shout out though because I want you to know that I am reading your comments and I do appreciate the time you take to write them.**

**RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley, rrrrRANDOMMmm,**

**Sawkaze-Steph16, Jennosaur, Cami-chan23, **

**Cute (Guest), OgaxHilda, Akela-Nakamura**

**Fairyglitter101, DanceswithSeatbelts, rebma726,**

**Fairychime-diamond47, arisapphyre, Angel Dimond,**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan and artistofthemind.**

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**So how is everyone? College has been fun and thankfully I'm finding some time to write and draw. If you're on Tumblr, expect to see more sketches!**

**I got some good news for fanfiction too! More short stories should be updated in the upcoming week. I'll be posting my late Team Natsu week submissions and for the mature audience, my Nalu love fest entries. Hopefully I'll get those done on time!**

**I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that you liked this part of 'Her Great Demon Lord.' There wasn't any Nalu, I know, but I'll make up for it with the next few stories! Let me know if you like the 'Her Great Demon Lord' series so I can try to do one more before the end of the month! (Cause you know...it's October lol)**

**Thanks again everyone; I'll see you guys soon! Until then, stay safe and take care!**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	15. Lesson Learned

Story 14- "Lesson Learned"

Summary: Natsu learns not to copy from Juvia. AU High School setting

Pairing: hinted Nalu and hinted Gruvia

Humor

Rated K+

Notes: Based on a prompt on Tumblr- I answered it but I have regrets that it wasn't a bit longer. If you've read it, you can skip ahead!

_But the prompt was this- __#3 forgot to do his/her homework, and 8 is the only one around. How do they persuade them to let them copy their homework?__ #3 was Natsu and #8 was Juvia._

(According to a court of law, I do NOT Own Fairy Tail...and sadly it's true)

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Natsu looked around the room; he didn't know many of his peers in this class. Unfortunately for him, Lucy wasn't in this class for him to copy off of. Not that he would have needed to copy off someone if his teacher didn't assign him a forgettable worksheet.

That's when his eyes landed on the blue haired swimmer. He grinned mischievously.

"Hey Juvia, let me copy your-"

"No."

He blinked but Juvia wasn't finished. "Juvia shall not help any of Gray-sama's rivals; especially a love one to Juvia!"

"What?!" The male exclaimed, unaware of the attention he drew. "I don't even like the ice prick!"

"Lies! Juvia has seen the boy love with her own eyes!"

He grunted and noticed a few of his classmates had turned their gazes to them. He really needed to copy the assignment before his lousily teacher entered the classroom.

"Look! If you let me copy your homework, I promise I'll give you one of the jackets the snow cone left in the boy's locker rooms!"

Instantly Juvia's eyes sparkled with hearts. "Love rival shall help Juvia?"

"I DON'T LIKE GRAY!"

But Juvia was far too busy daydreaming about having a new jacket from her beloved. In fact, Natsu was even surprised that Juvia had handed him the homework with a happy expression and the word "deal!"

His smile grew as he eagerly snatched his classmate's paper. He couldn't wait to brag to Lucy about his accomplishment.

Or at least that's what he had _originally_ wanted; but now he was sure his blonde would laugh at him. He stood frozen as he re-read his classmate's worksheet.

All the answers were "Gray-sama."

And at the bottom of the page, in big bold letters, was a final statement.

'_Gray-sama is the answer to all of Juvia's problems.' _

_..._

_..._

* * *

**A/N: As always thank you to those who favor/follow me and a shout out to all my reviewers: **

**Sawakaze-Steph16, Wonderwomanbatmanfan, Yumi-kii, **

**CrimsonLightKey, OgaxHilda, DancesWithSeatbelts, **

**hitokori midnight, fairyglitter101, Twishadowhunter, **

**AnimexFreak 0.o 808Lionfire, MyfangirlingWays,**

**Gh0st's buddy, Yuyui Hime, Celestialite, Guest, **

**rebma726, and another Guest **

**Hope you guys enjoyed this! If you read it on Tumblr, let me know if you liked the short ending better. There's too much stories and I hope you enjoy them!**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	16. The Little Writing Assignment

Story 15- "The Little Writing Assignment"

Summary: Wendy has to write a paper on her family. For 'Team Natsu week'- Prompt Family

Pairing: none; hinted Nalu though

Family

Rated K+

(According to a court of law, I own no rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly it's true)

...

...

* * *

Students clapped as one of their classmates finished their presentation. This caused little Wendy to gulp from her seat; her petite figure lightly trembled as her fingers held tightly onto her paper.

"Very good Coco." The teacher praised before turning his gaze to his roster. The muscular man smiled before his eyes settled on the twelve year old blunette. "Alright Wendy. It's your turn."

Her chair scraped the marvel-like floor; as she walked to the front she heard Romeo's gentle "Good luck."

His simple words made her feel slightly better. Her gaze turned back to Mr. Clive and after he gave her a small nod, she released a large breath of air and began to read.

"My family isn't a t-traditional family. I don't have a dad and my mom lives far away. I stay in a house that's as big as a castle. It needs to be big so that I could live with my brother and sisters," Her voice grew with confidence. "They're not really my brothers and sisters but they feel like it. And if I had to compare them to something, I would have to say they remind me of fairy tale characters."

This earned a few giggles from her peers. Uneasiness slightly spread through her body but she continued to push forward. "They're not ordinary. Each one has gone through a lot and is trying to get a happy ending. I love them all. But the four closest people to me are the ones who have helped me the most.

"If there's a castle then there's a prince. A lot of people think he's really cold but I think he's actually really nice. He always looking out for me; patting my head and making sure I'm treated like a princess. He even made me a beautiful crown for my birthday."

Her grin returned. "The princess is also pretty. She's always so nice to me. She knows when I'm feeling sad so she always makes me feel better. Sometimes she'll braid my hair and we'll talk for hours. And if she's not mad, she'll feeds us delicious cooking. She cares a lot about our family and she's also best friends with a dragon."

Some snickered but the young continued as her confidence returned. "We have a knight too. And she's beautiful and tough. She has really pretty hair; it's red like the brightest rose. Sometimes she's scary but I think that's because she's really strong and is looking out for us. I wish that one day I can protect her like she's protected me."

At this point she was practically beaming. "And last there's one of our dragons. He's funny and nice and really strong. He'll always make sure everyone is safe and having fun. If you're frowning, he'll try to make you smile. He loves animals and our family. He'll do whatever he can to protect us; he's like my big brother. He's also really f-fond of the princess and his cat.

So that's my family. They're really all good people, even if they can sometimes be a bit crazy. I love them and I would never give them up for anything. They're just too precious to me."

The girl finally looked up from her paper and she felt a bit of pride enter her when they started class. She gave them all a bright smile before heading back to her seat.

"Great job Wendy," Mr. Clive congratulated. "Just let Natsu know that he's more like a joker than an actual dragon, would you?"

Wendy giggled before the next student was called up.

* * *

The petite girl walked to the front of the school and grinned when she saw her friends waiting for her outside.

"Hello everyone! I hope I didn't make you wait too long..."

They (Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Erza) all shot her large smiles. "Wendy!" Everyone inquired about her day and how her presentation was.

"It was fine. Thank you again Lucy for proof-reading my essay."

The blonde gave her a thumbs up. "It was no problem. Just let me know when you need me to edit your paper again."

Natsu huffed. "If she really wants to help, she should just write your papers for you."

The teens his age threw him a dirty look. "Then she'd be a cheater." Lucy pointed out.

"Agreed. And I will not allow Wendy to become a dishonest student."

"Yeah flamehead; I get that it's hard for you to think but at least try." That sentence instantly had the pink haired boy butt-heads with the taller boy.

"What did you say ice-prick?"

"You two aren't fighting are you?" Erza turned to the pair and both boys instantly pretended to be the best of friends.

"No mam!" They chanted.

Lucy turned to their youngest friend. "Ready to go?"

The blunette nodded. As they started to walk away, Natsu, Gray and Erza quickly caught up. The pink haired teen wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist just as the other two teens started a conversation.

Wendy looked to left and watched Gray and Erza talk before turning her head to hear Natsu brag to Lucy about his newest fight.

As she walked in the middle, her smile never faltered.

A Prince, a dragon, a princess, and a knight?

Yes- they were definitely her fairy tale family.

...

...

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that. It was my first time writing through Wendy's POV. Hopefully it was okay. She's twelve and my sister is eleven so I tried matching her writing skills to my sister's. I appreciate all criticism :) **


	17. Hoarding

Story 16 - "Hoarding"

Summary: In an alternative world where Natsu stalks Lucy on a Juvia level and hoards many of her possessions, Happy thinks it's time to talk things out before their home becomes a Lucy museum.

Pairing: Largely hinted Nalu

Rated T (cause of one tiny adult joke)

Humor

Notes: Inspired by Gh0st's buddy's comment on Tumblr in regards to Nanakoblaze's drawing "If Natsu was a creepy stalker" (link down below) He said there's probably a Natsu like that in an alternative universe and I thought "there most likely is so here's my version!"

(According to a court of law, I own no rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly it's true)

* * *

...

When Happy first met Lucy, he didn't think she was all that great. He knew she was nice and pretty and had a cool apartment, but she was also mean and stingy. But after some time, he grew to like her and she became one of his favorite people.

However, he didn't expect Lucy to become Natsu's world. Every time someone asked the fire mage if he would accompany them somewhere, his first question would be "Is Lucy going?" Whenever they went shopping and they found a unique item he would say "do you think Lucy will like it?" Choosing a mission required the blonde to go with them; their free time consisted of going to wherever Lucy was or dragging her along in their schemes. Even if they weren't with the celestial mage, somehow her presence was still there; like in their home for instance.

It started with Lucy's maid dress. Natsu said he wanted it as a reminder of their first mission with their newest partner. Happy teased him and said it was really because he liked her but agreed none the less. Then he hung their most memorable mission flyers (not a bad thing) and even bought a bed that was similar to Lucy's in hopes she'd come over (didn't happen).

But it all went down hill when the guild opened up a souvenir shop. Natsu bought all of Lucy's merchandise. All her figurines, plushies, towels; basically anything related to the former heiress. Heck he even started commissioning Reedus to do some Lucy paintings for him. When the shop ran out of new Lucy items, the dragon slayer just started taking things from the girl's apartment; rough drafts of her stories, some of her clothes, shampoo bottles, and maybe a ribbon or two.

Their place, which was once filled with fun toys, had now become a Lucy shrine. But when Natsu decided to throw away Happy's fish bone collection (he wanted to see how many fish he would eat in his lifetime) the exceed knew enough was enough.

"Natsu you need to stop!" The cat floated above his father. The pink haired teen looked up from his newest Lucy photographs to give the cat a confused look.

"Stop what?"

"All of this! There's too many Lucy things in our house!"

Natsu gasped dramatically as if that was the worse thing his adoptive child had ever said.

"Happy!" His tone clearly stated that he was disappointed in him.

"It's the truth!" The cat yelled. "Why do you have so many pictures of her when you see her everyday!"

"Everyone has pictures of their favorite people! That's normal!" He replied with his crossed arms.

"But no one has dolls of them!" Happy countered back while holding up a large Lucy plushie.

"It's okay to have something to remind you of them when they're not here!"

Damn. Happy almost forfeited after that comment. But thankfully he still had one last defense.

"Oh yeah! Then...why do you have her underwear?!" This time the blue cat flashed him one of the blonde's laced panties.

The male heavily blushed; steam practically came out of his ears. "I-that's!" Happy grinned mischievously before Natsu blurted out. "YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND UNTIL YOU'RE OLDER!"

At the end the two boys compromised. Natsu would keep most of his Lucy belongings but return all of her personal items, such as clothes and anything that really came from her house.

The celestial mage wasn't too happy when she discovered that her partner had all her missing things and gave him a Lucy-kick for violating her privacy.

But she (and Happy) knew that wouldn't solve their friend's hoarding problem. Hoarding; they guessed was just something stalking dragons do.

* * *

**A/N: link to image-**

**h(-)t(-)t(-)p(-):(-)/(-)/(-)nanakoblaze(-).(-)tumblr(-).(-)com(-)/(-)post(-)/(-)131217879841(-)/saw-many-posts-about-natsu-is-the-actually-the ...remove all (-)**

* * *

**I'm sorry for not updating sooner. First of all, I jinxed myself and now I have a lot of assignments due this week so I've been working on those while I worked on fanfics/tumblr art. Second, I was working on other stories (spoilers a sequel for 'Moving Forward' and a bonus chapter for 'A Different us') but writer's block prevented me from finishing those, hence why these were delayed. Thirdly and most importantly, for some reason I start to get massive headaches when I'm on a computer. So now essays, art, and fanfics take longer to finish just because of all the breaks I take to get rid of my headaches. Hopefully the problem is my glasses and I'll try getting some new ones so I can continue writing without these interruptions.**

**Unfortunately I didn't get to post my Nalu love fest art because my scanner wasn't working so I couldn't color those. Hopefully during the week I'll find time to finish those as well.**

**In November I'm going to dedicate all my free time to working on 'Your Virtual Reality' chapter 7, which means this story won't be updated unless I write a really short drabble. **

**Sorry if everything feels rushed. I really need to go back to my homework but I didn't feel comfortable without updating my stories though. **

**As I've said, it's easier to contact me on Tumblr (ff-darkshininglight) especially since my tablet and phone don't give me as much of a headache as my computer screens do.**

**In case I don't update before October 31, Happy Halloween everyone! :D**

**Take care everyone and stay safe,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light **


	18. Warm Fingertips

Story 17- "Warm Fingertips"

By Dark Shining Light

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Friendship/Romance

Rated T

Summary: A bad mission causes Lucy, Natsu and Happy to lose a sense.

(According to a court of law, I have no rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly it's true)

* * *

...

...

...

_One moment they were fighting a criminal in a magic shop, and the next they were coughing due to a couple of potions Natsu had knocked over._

_When the smell died off and Lucy opened her eyes, she realized she was in darkness. Her heartbeat accelerated and sweat trailed down her forehead as she moved her hands in front of her. _

"_Hello?! Any body? Natsu! Happy! Where are you?!"_

_She heard moans; she wasn't sure if it was Natsu, the villain they were fighting or something entirely different. The noises died down, which is why she jumped when she heard the sound of stomping feet followed by a loud crash._

"_Natsu! Happy!" Lucy asked out loud. _

_The temperature escalated. Now anxious, the girl called out louder for her friends. Thankfully this time there was a response and she sighed in relief when she heard the blue Exceed. _

"_What's wrong with you guys. Did you lose your voices?"_

"_Happy?! Where are you?"_

"_Why are you guys acting weird! Say something!"_

"_Happy this isn't funny! Tell me where you are!" _

_She flinched when she heard what sounded like a punch to someone else's skin. _

"_Great job Natsu! You knocked him out!" The cat cheered._

"_Wait! Is Natsu with us?" Lucy inquired. She was grateful that the three of them were still together, even if she couldn't see them. Besides, if Happy wasn't willing to talk to her then maybe Natsu would._

"_Natsu! Why are you ignoring me! Not you too!" Happy complained again._

"_Natsu, can you hear me?" The blonde asked. She heard footsteps and gasped when she felt a pair of strong hands on her shoulders. Instinctively, the woman tried to step away but its grip only tightened and kept her from moving away. Then to add her confusion, what ever was holding onto her started to shake her. It wasn't like a threatening gesture but more like a 'snap out of' type of move that some of her friends in the guild have used. _

"_Natsu! Why are you shaking Lucy like that?! Is it because she's not talking...but you're not talking either so it's not fair!"_

_So this was Natsu? Now that she thought about it, that would explain why the hands were warm and rough. But how was it possible to Natsu to be front of her without her-_

_And as if a bucket of iced water dropped on her, she froze. Dread spread through her as she remained paralyzed. The celestial mage felt incredibly stupid for not putting all the pieces together sooner. Or maybe she never wanted to think about the possibility to begin with. The point was she couldn't see anything..._

_...which meant she was blind..._

...

The campfire crackled as the original members of Team Natsu gathered around it. Or at least that's what Lucy assumed.

Hours have passed since their incident at the magic shop. When she first explained her situation to her friends, she didn't get an appropriate response. Happy was constantly asking her why she wasn't talking (which caused her to fear that there was something wrong with her blue furred companion) and Natsu didn't say anything at all. Then she demanded that they bring her a paper and pen in hopes that that would clear any confusion. Surprisingly, it was Natsu who slipped the objects into her hands. He had done it so gently too; maybe he had known what was wrong with her and was trying to handle the situation to the best of his ability.

To double make sure, she had written the words 'I'm blind' on the paper. Of course Happy had freaked out and asked her how many fingers he was holding to see if she was telling the truth. She snapped at him of course.

A few seconds later, she had felt the pen being taken away from her fingers. She heard light scribbles and figured that the dragon slayer was writing something.

"_Lucy..." _Happy had said. _"Natsu says he can't talk.'_

Soon after it wasn't hard to figure out that the blue cat was deaf.

So Happy was deaf, Natsu was mute, and she was blind.

It was a strange combination and of course it was incredibly frustrating. Communication was difficult; she couldn't see if they were listening to her, Happy couldn't hear her comments, and Natsu couldn't share his opinion. After some time, they figured out that if Lucy talked, Natsu would write down her words and his response, in which then the cat would read it out loud for Lucy to hear. It was a time consuming process but it worked (for the most part.)

They had managed to get a hold of the shop keeper (after turning in the criminal of course) and he had reassured them that those spells were temporary. But after almost a whole day of being blind, the girl started to brace for the worst.

Being blind made the girl feel pathetic. Every step she took was with uncertainty and she couldn't help her team with much. At least the other two had their sight but she felt that being unable to see made her other senses useless. During the day, the fire mage had lost his patience with the blonde and decided it would be best if he just scooped her into his arms and walked with her. She knew that he had meant well; he was probably tired of seeing her constantly trip and fall because of some dumb little thing in the forest. And the girl didn't need to see the bruises to know they were forming.

Yet she couldn't stop from thinking that her teammates pitied her. And she hoped that Natsu would never learn that she held back her tears of frustration when she had buried her face into his chest.

The whole day she had felt like a bother and now, with only the sounds of firewood crackling, she felt extremely alone.

Lucy couldn't sleep; though she was extremely tired, the fear of being unable to protect herself kept her up. As she listened to sounds surrounding her, she was able to pick up the soft purrs coming from the feline.

The young mage smiled.

She wondered if Happy was currently sleeping with Natsu. It would be best if he did; though Natsu couldn't talk, he at least had the ability to see, hear and punch his opponents. That was plenty to reassure her that both boys would be safe.

A light breeze brushed her skin and she shivered in response. She wondered how close she was to the fire. Of course if she was able to see she would be able to adjust her distance but right now she would rather freeze than risk burning herself.

The celestial mage wasn't sure how long time had passed but eventually she heard something move and was able to detect footsteps heading her way.

"Natsu?"

She wanted to smack herself. Like hell Natsu would be able to answer!

The pace of her heartbeat quickened and she swallowed nervously as the being approached her. The footsteps stopped and she sensed that someone was in front of her. Then she heard them move again.

However, she wasn't expecting to be lifted from the ground and into someone's lap.

"Wah!"

But the hands she felt around her waist reassured her that this person was in fact her Natsu. After today she was sure she could recognize his touch anywhere. His hands were rough from all the labor he's done yet they still managed to be tender at the right times. And whenever they rested somewhere on her body, whether it was on her shoulders or waist, her temperature would increase and her heart would thump faster...like it was now.

Unconsciously, she rested her head against his well-toned chest. She felt as ease; the female softly grinned as she remembered she wasn't on her own.

Then, Lucy felt something crawl on her lap. She gasped but the moment she felt the short fur, she realized who decided to make her chest their new pillow. This time she released a large smile as her arms tightened around the cat and Natsu's strong arms tightened around her.

Any other day she would deny his embrace (out of embarrassment of course) but for tonight, she'd let it slide. Even if he couldn't talk, his hands, that were currently caressing her skin, told her that everything was going to get better. They were all suffering but he would stick by her regardless.

They weren't alone; he let her know that with just the brush of his warm fingertips.

...

...

...

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. How are you? First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for over 300 reviews. It means a lot that so many people support me. It's a really good feeling. So thank you everyone :)**

**I know it's been months since I updated any form of story and I'm sorry about that. School and work have definitely taken up much of my time but I'm on winter break, which means I have time to work on my personal projects. I'm sorry this wasn't romantic; when I first started writing this I had the intention of having some Nalu fluff. But I haven't been in 'fluffy' mood. Yes, some of it is because I'm not getting any inspiration from the Fairy Tail manga or anime. I'm not emotionally invested in it as I used to be.**

**But the main reasons why I haven't been writing fluff are because of what's been happening in my area recently. I don't know if any of you have been keeping up the news but in the beginning of the month, the San Bernardino shooting occurred. Believe it or not, my university is fifteen minutes away. Can you imagine our fear? These people just shot a community center that helped people with disabilities; what's to stop them from killing a bunch of college students? Thankfully no shooting happened on our campus but it did leave a mark. Afterwards there have been two reports of bomb threats and a major mall burglary happened right in front of my work.**

**I watched The Seven Deadly Sins and read the manga and that really helped clear my mind. Heck, I was even inspired to do some Nalu art because of it.**

**But just this weekend I learned that three years ago there was supposed to have been a terrorist attack on a community college and a popular freeway. Three years ago I went to that same community college. It's strange; I can't speak for everyone but I'm sure most of us have had those daydreams where there is a criminal in the school and you're going to save the day. However, you're 100% confident that's never going to happen. But then you're given a report about how it almost did. As you were on campus, talking to some friends while surrounded by peers and your favorite professors were in the next building, someone had a detailed plan to kill you and/or your peers. You're not as safe as you believe yourself to be; and that's just a very harsh slap from reality. It still stings.**

**I'm letting you guys know this because I think you have a right to know in case my writing starts to get a bit darker. **

**Thank you all for your patience. I'm going to try and start reviewing all the stories that I missed some time this week (and also reply to my fanfiction mail.) Again, sorry if I have disappointed anybody with this news or story.**

**If I don't update something before Friday, Merry Christmas everyone! And if you don't celebrate it or celebrate something else or more than one holiday, Happy Holidays :)**

**Your friend,**

**Dark Shining Light**


	19. Kiss Me Signs

Story 18- 'Kiss Me' Signs

Summary: Lucy and Natsu hold 'Kiss Me' signs as part of a class project.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Rated K+

Romance/Humor

(Disclaimer: According to a court of law, I do NOT own any rights to the Fairy Tail franchise)

* * *

Lucy did her best to look as relaxed as possible. After all, displaying her nervousness would surely cause strangers to stay clear away from her. And if she was going to hold up a 'Kiss Me' sign, then she needed to be confident.

To help achieve this, she also had to ignore her pink haired boyfriend that was holding up an identical sign next to her.

They were taking an art contemporary class; it wasn't a requirement for either of their majors but they needed units and this sounded like a class with little homework.

However, this was an in-class assignment and they were doing a fluxus performance. Their group agreed to have two people, a girl and a boy, hold up 'Kiss me' signs and see if anyone did. Of course, she and Natsu were chosen to do the task.

So here she was, with her boyfriend, holding up 'Kiss me' signs out in public and in front of her classmates. Just a typical college day.

"Hey..." The athlete mumbled, nudging her side with his elbow. "I bet I'll get more kisses than you." He teased.

She rolled her eyes; his challenge distracting her from her yelling classmates. "You wish." Was all she could whisper back as two girls approached them.

The blonde unconsciously bit her lip; for a moment she was sure they were only going to peck her boyfriend. However, much to her surprise, one of the girls stood in front of her.

Lucy flushed with color. _'Okay...here I go...' _She puckered her lips and leaned forward. However, the student in front of her took a step back.

"No honey," She stated with disbelief. "I was just going to kiss your cheek."

The Heartfilia girl instantly felt heat rush to her face; her skin was glowing bright red and she could hear Natsu laughing next to her.

"O-Oh. O-okay. Sorry."

The stranger kissed her cheek and so did her friend. Even when they left, she felt very pleasant. She didn't have to kiss anyone on the lips and she was grateful they didn't discriminate against her like she thought they would.

In fact, this continued for every person that came up for a kiss. Sure they were mostly girls but it warmed her heart that they were trying to be fair. And she rewarded them each with a bright smile and a little 'thank you.'

The only time one of them was kissed was when Gray, a friend of theirs (no matter how much Natsu denied it), walked by and kissed her cheek. It definitely caused Natsu's temper to flare but the college girl jabbed him to behave.

After a minute passed with no one approaching them, their professor declared their performance to be over and their peers clapped. They were going to move onto the next group, when the pink haired boy blocked her path.

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips. The gesture left her blinking in confusion and a lovely shade of red appeared on her cheeks.

"What?" Natsu stated with a smirk. "Your sign does say 'kiss me'."

Her mouth parted as his words registered in her head. Though her blush never disappeared, any hints of shyness did. "Well..." She mumbled. "So does yours."

His grin widened and the two moved in closer until their lips reconnected.

The professor might have declared their art piece to be over but who was she to say that it was.

After all, they were still holding up their 'Kiss me' signs. They couldn't stop making art just yet.

* * *

**A/N: Happy White Day everyone!**

**I know I'm hardly around but I'm still alive. I won't bore you with excuses on why I haven't been writing but I hope you like this little piece. It was inspired by something that happened in class; two students who weren't dating did hold up 'kiss me' signs in front of our Student Union. A few strangers did go and kiss them (none of the lips) but it was really adorable to see love being spread. And they were fair too! Some faith in humanities has been restored.**

**Oh! And A fluxus piece is a little hard to define but they basically challenge the definition of what art is and try to erase the line between art and life.**

**If you want to talk, its easier to communicate with me on Tumblr: username is ff-darkshininglight. **

**Thank you to everyone who continues to leave reviews and favor my stories when I'm not around. It means a lot to see people still interested in my work and that really keeps me going. I also want to thank the people who repeated review my newest stories (you know who you are) and I feel awful that I don't thank you enough. My spring break is coming up and hopefully when I'm on break I'll be able to send you private messages explaining how much your words mean to me. THANK YOU EVERYONE!  
**

**I hope everyone enjoyed White Day (or pi day for some people) and stay safe.**

**Until next time,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining light **

**P.S. My story 'Lucky Lucy and The Seven Natsus' has been translated into French by amazing CheneiChl. If you're a fluent French reader that struggles with English, you might enjoy that version more. Thanks again ^^ **


	20. His Vest

Story 19- His Vest

Summary: Inspired by Hiro Mashima's image of Lucy wearing Natsu's outfit

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Rated K+

Romance/a tiny bit of angst

Disclaimer: According to a court of law, I do NOT own any rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly its true)

Notes: I didn't notice that Lucy was wearing Natsu's one-sleeved shirt instead of the vest until I finished this so for the sake for this story, let's pretend it was the vest okay?

* * *

Lucy paused her cleaning once she was certain the boys had left the room. Her vision was on the floor, but her mind drifted to her gloomy thoughts, unaware of the clothing she let sit on her lap.

After they returned to Magnolia, Natsu and Happy dragged her to their home, begging that she help clean their dirty house. And of course, when they meant 'help' they meant she do all the work while they goofed off. It wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't constantly talking about was their adventures when they left to train. At first, the stories were interesting but then, the more and more they talked, the more she was reminded that she spent nearly a year without them.

It got to the point that she couldn't hold up her forced smile any longer.

So the blonde gave them the task of taking the furniture outside and dusting it while she handled the laundry. Surprisingly they didn't complain; instead they commented with an 'aye sir' and got to work.

This gave the celestial mage time to drop her fake cheerfulness and collect her thoughts.

Sometimes it was hard to believe Fairy Tail disbanded and her partners disappeared before she could ask what was wrong. But the new scars left in her heart was a constant reminder that it hadn't been a dream. Her suffrage had been real.

"What do you got there Lucy?" The blue feline inquired as he stood by her sitting figure.

She blinked; disconnecting herself from her thoughts as she stared blankly at the fabric that rested on her lap. Natsu stood behind her as he was curious about the item that might have distracted his partner.

"Oh." She lifted up the piece of clothing. It was Natsu's old vest.

"Alright!" The dragon slayer cheered. "You found it! I was looking for it everywhere!"

She rolled her eyes; if he would have just cleaned up the mess, he would have noticed it was underneath his other clothes.

"I don't think it fits you anymore Natsu." Happy replied. The former journalist looked at the other mage and realized Happy was right. The shirt in her hand was too small for the fire wizard's bigger frame. He was sure to tear the thing the moment he put it on.

"It'd fit." The pink haired boy whined.

"Happy's right Natsu. You'll just destroy it when you put it on."

"Nah-ah"

The female mage raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that clearly stated 'oh really?' Natsu

"Then I should wear it!" The cat declared. The Exceed snatched it from Lucy's hands before trying it on.

"Ta-da!"

Much to the key holder's amusement, the vest merely engulfed his tiny body.

"Ha!" The tallest of the three taunted. "It doesn't fit you either!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"DOES TOO!"

"DOES NOT!"

"CAN YOU DO THIS AFTER I LEAVE!" The woman shouted. Both boys frowned at her tone before one of them was quickly hit with an idea.

"I know!" Natsu stated as he slammed a clenched hand onto his palm. "Lucy should be the one to wear it!"

And he said with such a bright smile too.

"Excuse me?! I'm not wearing your dirty shirt!" She crossed her arms to show she was serious.

"Come on Lucy!" He shot her a devastated look. "It's either you wear it or I have to throw it out!"

"THEN THROW IT OUT!"

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO!" The pink haired dragon slayer whined louder. "That's the shirt I wore when we met! I can't throw it out! Its special!"

Silence echoed within the room; even their mischievous blue cat was quiet after that remark.

The girl's gaze returned to the floor as she held her hand to the cat, gesturing to give her the item. "Okay fine. I'll wear it."

She didn't need see his victory grin to know it was on his face.

Lucy was about to remove her shirt when she felt two pairs of eyes on her. The blonde shot them a heavy glare. "Will you just turn around!"

"Lucy's a pervert!" Happy chanted while Natsu snickered. But the boys still faced their bodies in a different direction.

"Says the two that were watching…" She mumbled.

Once her shirt was off and replaced by Natsu's, she couldn't help but to feel a little awkward. It was large but not by an exaggerated amount like it was on Happy. And of course, her breasts were exposed and she had to hold the article of clothing with her hands.

"I think Lucy's gained weight. It won't zip up!"

"Stupid cat! It's an open-vest! It's not supposed to zip up!" The busty girl countered.

The cat merely ignored her, muttering how she should eat more fish to stay in shape. She would have commented if she hadn't notice that her other teammate hadn't spoken. He was merely staring her; looking as dozed off as the time he lost his scarf in the guild's library.

She frowned, unconsciously gripping the vest tighter. "What?"

Happy flew over the dragon slayer and gave an impish grin. "He likes you!"

That snapped the fire mage out of his trance. "It's not that. I was just thinking she was missing something." He argued before resting his eyes on her again. "Ah! I know!"

His childish grin returned as he removed his valuable possession from his neck. It was clear the former heiress was taken back when he decided to wrap it around her.

She stood still as he wrapped the piece of cloth around her neck. The blonde stared at his throat, once again being reminded of his growth spurge over the year.

The woman didn't notice that he had finished. His hands remained on her shoulders, not noticing that he should have dropped them a while ago until he took a step back to admire his work.

Lucy pouted. He didn't even bother to remove her hair when he wrapped the scarf around her. She used on hand to pulled on the white material while her other hand freed her trapped hair. Once she finished, she turned to face her once-again quiet guild member.

Natsu looked at her with a heavy expression, the intensity in his eyes was something she only saw on the battlefield. But there was no malice, just a hint of sorrow. The rest of him looked at her like she was a new type of fire that he had missed in the world.

This unconsciously caused the celestial wizard to grip the scarf with her other hand, expressing her nervousness in a subtle way.

"Lucy…" His voice sounded dry but it still sent a shiver down her spine. "I-"

"-llllllliiikkkeeee her!" Happy completed, pleased with the caught off guard expressions he gave them. One looked annoyed and the other had a flushed expression. "But seriously! Wait until I leave the room before you take off your clothes!"

"No one was going to do that you shitty cat!" The young woman yelled the same time the dragon slayer said, "I'm not the ice princess!"

The blue exceed continued to make comments, this time how Natsu was being a Gray, which lured Natsu into an argument. The girl chose to focus on the vest; she was embarrassed to practically be exposing her breasts but didn't regret the decision in wearing Natsu's clothing.

The two boys continued to bicker, leaving her to her thoughts for a few more seconds.

Maybe she would keep the vest. After all, her dark thoughts whispered, if he chose to leave again, she would keep this as a souvenir of their times, and a reminder that she wasn't the only thing he left behind.

* * *

**Thank you- Hikari Dragneel24, remba726, KaUiA, Yumi-kii, AnimexFreakz 0.o, DancesWithSeatbelts, OgaxHilda, Angela-the-neko, Twishadowhunter, Guest- Searching, Fairyglitter101, Yadis J for your reviews on my last chapter. I'm very grateful that I still have friends on this site. Your words always encourage me not to stop writing. Thank you.**

* * *

**A/N: Fanfic Friday anyone? Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I used to. I hope everyone is doing well. I'm a senior in college and I'm trying to graduate by the end of this summer so my updates are going to be super random. I don't know what I'll be working on next or when; it really just depends on my mood and the time I have. And I'm tired of breaking promises so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut about the future. I don't know how I still have readers but thank you everyone for your support :)**

**Until next time,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light **


	21. This is goodbye

Story 20- "Goodbye"

Summary: For Jude Heartfilia, this was goodbye.

Pairing: none

Angst/Family

Rated K+

Notes: This follows the manga rather than the Starry Arc in the anime

(According to a court of law, I DON'T own any rights to the Fairy Tail franchise)

* * *

'_Dear Lucy…'_ The man wrote, his face twisted in an expression that revealed he wasn't satisfied. "No…" He mumbled. "That's not right either."

The blonde crossed out those words as he contemplated on his next.

It was quite laughable; the once powerful Jude Heartfilia, too poor to fund an investigation, lying on his deathbed while writing a letter to his missing daughter because he knew that when she returned, he wouldn't be here to welcome her back.

And perhaps, if he would have been a better father, she would have never vanished in the first place.

Though he was a strong writer, expressing his true feelings is what he always lacked. It was a painful process and an obstacle he knew he needed to overcome. This was his final message to his only child; there would be no time to settle their differences. His words on this letter would be last ones she would ever hear and any pride he held had to be let go.

She deserved to know the truth.

Jude sighed and started again on a new piece of paper.

'_To my beloved daughter, Happy Birthday!'_

An angst grin made its way to his lips as he remembered all the messages he sent out with those exact words.

'_Even if I say that, I wonder if you'll ever read this letter someday.'_

Because he knew she still hadn't read the others.

'_It's been a long time since I heard you vanished along with your friends. I was incredibly worried but I kept believing.' _

He paused. There was no reason to believe that she would return. People always told him that his belief was his denial; that he was incompetent to grasp the concept that Lucy would never return. It was a strange thing to say to a man who lost his wife fourteen years ago.

As his mind wondered to his past lover, a genuine smile appeared.

'_You resembled Layla so much. You really were a "blessed" child.'_

Images of a happier time played his head. His little girl in the arms of her mother and both girls giving him beautiful smiles when he returned from a meeting.

'_So I kept on believing that you had to be okay…'_

Because no father should ever hear that his daughter is missing.

'…_and that we would be able to meet again.'_

Because every parent that loves their child should be able to see them.

He stopped again. The blonde male took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. His mind was wondering back to an earlier rant where he blamed the Junelle family for never helping him, and at his so-called business partners that took everything. He cursed at the constellations and every unearthly being in the sky for failing to protect Lucy.

The former CEO concentrated back on his letter and decided write about his plans to keep him distracted.

'_I'm getting ready to finalize some business negotiations in the west. It keeps me busy but I still just think of those days when I was fulfilled.'_

But it didn't work. And the closer he got to the end of the paper, the more painful it was becoming.

'_I think of when I was with you and Layla every day.'_

Distant memories of the mansion filled his mind. His tiny newborn daughter in the arms of the woman he loved; his servants laughing joyfully as Lucy tried to play tag with them; Layla's proud gaze when Lucy summoned her first spirit, Lucy's bright smile when they first got their dog, Lucy's stubborn pout when she was determined to have something, Layla's laughter when they watched their child do something silly, and Layla's love-filled eyes when he would hold their daughter.

'_You are mine and Layla's pride. All I want is that you live strong down whatever path you believe in.'_

Layla's passionate gaze when they had their nights of love-making; her gasp of excitement when they heard they were having a child; the light surrounding her when she summoned a spirit making her look like a goddess; the sad smile she gave him when she knew she was going to pass away.

Jude dropped his pen and wiped away any forming tears; his lips quivered as he thought back to his happier days, the lonely ones and his final upcoming ones.

'_I hope I can see you again soon.'_

He hated those words because he shouldn't have to hope that he would see his daughter; he should just be able to do it. But at the same time, he wanted Lucy to know that he had envisioned a future with them together.

He daydreamed that she would come over when she had a chance and tell him about the adventures she had been on. She would summon Cancer and Aquarius so he can greet them, and Aquarius would yell at them for interrupting one of her many dates. They would go out to dinner and when he was struggling with cash, they would make a meal at his home. On the days he would know she was visiting, he would have some rice balls ready.

At some point, she would bring a boy over and he would watch them interact with a love he and Layla once had. When she would be older, he would see her in a white dress that only emphasized on her beauty.

And he would walk her down the aisle and he would tell her in person that he was proud of her.

There was only one line left and at this point he knew what his final words would be.

'_Lucy…I have always loved you.'_

Because he knew his behavior in the past made her think that he had stopped. But there was never a moment in his life where 'I don't love my daughter' would have passed his lips.

The blonde man placed his pen down once more. He reflected on his actions before reading his letter over and over again. His heart felt lighter, pleased he was able to finish this task after so many days of procrastination.

Jude turned his attention to the clock and realized what time it was. He pushed his seat back quickly with the letter in his hand. Jude attached it very carefully to his newly wrapped gift and waited for the mailman.

When it was time to hand his package to the worker, Jude hesitated for a brief second. However, he managed to still give it away and even sent it off with a smile.

He watched the letter leave and a moment later, silent tears trailed down his cheeks. The harsh realism made its way into his head, and destroyed any sense of contentment. He thought he would be fine; after all, he rehearsed this moment every day in his mind. Yet nausea filled his stomach as the dark truth echoed in his head.

He would never see his daughter again.

Their reunion would only happen in his final moments of daydreaming.

This was goodbye.

* * *

**A/N: Special thanks for DancesWithSeatbelts for being my beta-reader! She's amazing and please have a look at her fanfics as well.**

* * *

**As always, I want to thank my reviewers from my last story. Thank you- **

**Fairyglitter101, Gh0st's buddy, Angela-the-neko,**

**Searching, silver light of, Yumi-kii, EchizenRyoma,**

**rebma726, Yuyui Hime, MyfangirlingWays (like 4 times)**

**Hikari Dragneel24, Guest, DancesWithSeatbelts,**

**Angel Dimond, Twishadowhunter, akamagerain, **

**Switchlolly007, and OgaxHilda**

**I understand that this website isn't what it used to be. A lot of times readers don't take the time to review so I'm grateful that I have so many people still commenting and willing to help me with my writing. To show how honored I am, I'm going to hold a little contest! **

**I'm going to give away two fanfics; the first one can be won by being my 400th reviewer for this story ^^. The second one will involve a raffle; if you review this story or any of my other ones by the time I update this series again, you'll be entered to win :) If you have any questions or I wasn't specific enough, feel free to ask. **

**Again! Thank you everyone!**

**Enjoy your weekend and take care,**

**Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	22. The Magic of Maid Dresses

Story 21- "The Magic of Maid Dresses"

Summary: The Fairy Tail women agree to do a maid cafe and Natsu will be damned if he let random strangers steal Lucy's attention.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Romance/Humor

Rated T for crude language

Notes: Takes place after the one year but an AU where they don't fight Zeref right away. AND THANK YOU DancesWithSeatbelts for editing this story ^^

(According to a court of law, I own no rights to the Fairy Tail franchise...and sadly it's true)

* * *

She was going to kill them. Their death, of course, would be slow and painful. She'd start off with a 'Lucy-kick' before using the current Stardress she was wearing (her Virgo one) to knock their teeth out. She considered it a good start.

The woman sighed. She knew she was overacting and should probably be listening to her customers' complicated orders. It's not like those two idiots would dare to-

"LUCY!" The dragon slayer and his blue Exceed chanted.

-piss her off any further. The blonde clenched her teeth and without bothering to dismiss herself from her guests, she marched over to her partners' table.

"WHAT IS IT NOW?!" She snapped.

Natsu and Happy have been driving her insane the entire day and she couldn't understand why they would want to sabotage her in the first place.

Today was the day of the Fairy Tail fundraiser. Having managed to create a new building on their own, Makarov still wanted to have some money saved in case of an emergency. It was decided (by all the perverts in the guild) that the best way to draw attention was to have all the women do a maid-themed restaurant (because a maid cafe sounded too girly.)

To ensure that the men weren't going to be beaten half to death, Makarov promised the girls 15% of the total profits and that they could keep all the tips they earned. The women were on board with the idea afterwards.

And as much as Lucy loved the Strauss siblings, she was happy that they volunteered to work in the kitchen then the lobby. After all, how was she supposed earn any tips with both Erza AND Mirajane as servers. At least now she had a chance.

Unfortunately, Natsu and Happy decided that their entertainment was more important than her rent money. They were constantly interrupted her time with other patrons, demanding that they get more food or simply asking the stupidest questions.

It was no wonder she was ready to end them.

"Tsk, tsk. That's not very nice Lucy." The salmon-colored haired teen stated as he shook his head.

"Aye. We're your guests and you should be nice to us." Happy added.

"I'll start treating you like our customers when I know you actually plan on paying." She answered with her arms crossed.

"Typical Lucy, being all greedy."

"SHUT IT CAT! Are you going to pay for your meal or not?!" The celestial mage inquired again.

The fire mage shot her a confident smirk. "Relax will yea? This time no one stole our safe so we have plenty of money!"

Lucy puffed her cheeks. "Fine. But I better get a nice tip."

"I can give you a tip Lucy!" The cat said proudly. He placed his paw by his mouth before clearing his throat. Then he gave her a cheerful smile. "Cut down on your sweets and you won't be so heavy anymore!"

"YOU STUPID CAT! YOU'RE DEAD!"

* * *

Fortunately for Natsu, Makarov can to investigate the commotion. A fistful of jewels was enough to prove he was a customer and the guild master decided that he could stay as long as he didn't cause Lucy anymore trouble. To ensure he would stay on his best behavior, the old man promised to stick Erza on him if he misbehaved.

The male grumbled as he watched his female partner. She was currently assisting a group of older men. His fists clenched as he saw them leering over her exposed chest.

Seriously? This is why him and Happy started 'Operation: Protect Lucy from Perverts' in the first place; to watch over their partner as she served all these creeps! But how were they supposed to make their mission a success if Erza was going to kick their asses for trying to help?

"Gajeel! Let me go!" He turned and spotted Iron head forcing Levy to sit on his lap. She was blushing and thrashing around as the other dragon slayer chuckled at her antics. Lily sat next to them and looked incredibly disappointed in his partner's behavior.

As much as he hated to admit it, that looked like a good idea. Putting Lucy on his lap would definitely prevent her from dealing with those perverts and seeing her worked up is also fun. Maybe he should try it to when she passed by.

Natsu looked around the room to see what the other guys were doing. Laxus was helping Elfman behind the bar with Mira and Lisanna working in the kitcken. However, Elfman was yelling out 'a true man doesn't let his eyes wonder' whenever he saw someone eyeing Evergreen and she repaid his gesture with yelling at him.

Loke (never one to miss a pretty girl wear a skirt) was currently flirting with Laki and Kinana. Cana hung out with a different group of men (more like drank with them) and they didn't seem to care if they were going to eat or not.

He didn't have to worry about Wendy and Erza cause Wendy and Carla were 'hostess' and therefore safe from the clutches of lewd customers. And Erza was, well, Erza.

Gray, the lucky bastard, didn't have to try as hard since Juvia was literally throwing herself onto him, shouting out things like 'Juvia will only serve Gray-sama!'

Why couldn't he have it that easy?

His eyes wondered back to the table Lucy was serving. She came back with their food and it looked like they were keeping their nasty comments to themselves. However, the moment Lucy ducked down to place their plates on the table, he noticed the deep blushes that came across the mens' faces. He quickly figured out that their attention was on her breasts.

Anger flared through him like a lit match dropped on oil. Happy could tease him all he wanted later for what he was about to do but there was no way he was going to let them eye Lucy like she was a piece of delicious meat.

The moment her back turned and he means THE moment her back turned, he released a giant fire ball at them.

When the damage was done he felt sort of bad. Not because he burned them until the point they passed out but because all the food Mira worked hard on went to waste.

However, he didn't have time to grieve. He noticed Lucy's cold glare and he will admit he was slightly intimated but what really freaked him out was the deadly aura behind him. Happy was already sweating which meant there could only be one person behind him.

Natsu looked over his shoulder and smiled nervously. "H-hey Erza..."

The redhead showed him no mercy when she punched him out of the guild (and yes it was painful).

* * *

"I didn't even get to finish my meal." Happy whined as he and his human partner waited in long line to get back into the guild.

"Don't worry buddy! We're going to get back in just you wait!" The dragon slayer promised his friend. After all, he wasn't planning on letting Lucy hang out with perverts for too long.

"But how?! This is going to take forever! They'll be out of fish by the time we get there."

"Because I have an idea!" He whispered into Happy's fluffy ear and soon the cat was smiling mischievously as well. They both grinned and gave each other a high-five before they set their plan into gear.

* * *

So creeping in like ninjas didn't work. Sure they were always successful when breaking and entering Lucy's home but who knew that Freed would have already created runes to prevent others from sneaking in?

The two grumbled as they walked back to the end of the line.

However, the Exceed and pink haired teen were taken back when they spotted Gajeel and Lily in line. The iron dragon had a bright red cheek, indicating that he had been punched. When Natsu added the pieces together and figured out that Gajeel was kicked out, he laughed outload.

This caused the larger male to instantly yell, "SHUT IT SALAMENDER! YOU WERE KICKED OUT FIRST!"

"YEAH WELL AT LEAST MY CHEEK DON'T LOOK LIKE A GIANT PIMPLE!"

The two growled at each other before exchanging blows, not caring that they were scaring away the potential customers in line.

"Do they really need to fight here?" Lily questioned.

"Aye!" Happy said. "They wouldn't be them if they didn't."

"Man you two are pathetic." A new voice spoke behind the two Exceeds.

The dragon slayers glared at the ice mage who decided to make his appearance.

"You got something to say droopy-eyes?!" The pink haired male called out.

"Yeah that you're both idiots!" Gray narrowed his eyes. "It's pathetic that you guys are trying to get back in line. I get that your worried but that's what's making you idiots in the first! The girls are fine. They're Fairy Tail mages; they can protect themselves from any pervert that comes in through those doors. Have more faith in them will ya?"

Natsu and Gajeel looked down with a grunt, refusing to openly acknowledge that their rival might have a point.

"I'm heading home and if you trust the girls to handle themselves you'd do the same." The calmer member commented before walking past them.

The previous brawlers grimaced; their guilt started to resurface. They snuck a peek at the male walking away before they spotted something on his behind. There was a footprint imprinted below his back pocket; the shape resembled one of the shoes the girls were wearing. Instantly, their guilt converted into anger.

"YA BASTARD!" They both shouted as they attacked the ice wizard from behind. "You didn't leave on your own! You were kicked out the like rest of us!"

Gray glared as he blasted them with his magic. "Get off me will ya?!"

The three immediately began one of their infamous fights; they showed little concern to where missed their attacks ended up.

"Should we tell them that they scared away the line?" The blue feline inquired.

"They probably wouldn't listen to us anyways." Lily commented as they watched the humans unknowingly get closer to their guild.

* * *

Lucy winced as another rude customer referred to her as 'sweetheart' than her actual name. Most of her customers were fine but it was the perverted ones that were really driving her patience thin. It was a miracle she hadn't 'Lucy-kicked' one of them to the ceiling already. She knew being a model had its benefits but she never thought building a higher tolerance for sexist men would be one of them.

Once she delivered her ticket to Elfman, she paused and let her brown eyes wonder around the hectic room.

Mira was by the bar, on her lunch break, talking to Laxus and Master. Cana was still chugging a barrel of alcohol as her guests laid wasted on the table. Evergreen had turned three of her customers to stone; most likely for saying something offensive but with the brunette she was never certain. Laki scared away another customer with her strange comments and Bisca left early to join her family for lunch. Juvia was moping that Gray was kicked out and wasn't taking any orders from her tables. Erza, who had charmed her clients into buying everything on the menu, threatened them when she discovered they didn't have the proper funds to pay for their meal. When they offered to buy her a strawberry cake, they were forgiven and now she was happily munching on her favorite dessert, oblivious to the failing restaurant.

It looked like Kinana and Lucy were Fairy Tail's last hope; she would include Levy but the bookworm just finished knocking out an old man that mocked her for looking adorable.

The blonde sighed as she waited for the food to be ready. She considered summoning Virgo and asking her if she would cover her while she went on her break. However, she remembered her spirit's tendency to ask for punishment and her biggest fear was that someone would actually take her offer.

"Order up!" Elfman called out. Lucy grabbed her plates and placed them on a tray.

As she walked with the food, she wondered how Natsu and Happy were doing. Yes, they irritated her but she would rather deal with their behavior than some of the 'valued customers' in this building. At least they looked at her with decency and genuine smiles; everyone else was either staring at certain body parts or talking to her like she was a servant.

Their teasing wasn't new and despite frustrating her to no end, some of their actions were actually thoughtful. They weren't picky about the food and were understanding when she couldn't carry it all at once. At some point, the dragon slayer and cat ordered her favorite food and asked her to sit with them and eat (she had harshly declined with she insisted she needed to go back to work though.)

The celestial wizard stopped at her customers' table and placed the meals in front of them. "Excuse me!" One of the women snapped from the group. "This isn't what I ordered."

Lucy twitched. _'But you did. I even repeated the order and you said okay.'_ "I'm sorry mam. What is it that you actually ordered?"

"I said I wanted the steak cooked to med-well and this is well done! And I wanted a soup and salad, not a side of mash potatoes! Not I have to wait while everyone else eats-"

At this point she tuned her out.

'_Natsu and Happy wouldn't have lied about what they ordered….and they wouldn't have complained if it was different either…'_

Lucy suppressed her anger as best as she could. "I'm sorry about that. I'll go remake your meal and bring you the correct order."

As she walked away, she heard the woman make a snippy remark. "Honestly, I didn't think members of this guild were so stupid."

The girl stopped and sent the customer a nasty glare. _'You can treat me like a piece of meat but you don't insult my family.' _

"You-!"

The front doors disintegrated. The blonde used the tray as a shield against the debris. Much to her horror, it was Natsu, Gray and Gajeel that broke into the building.

"NATSU!" She screamed.

That stopped the men and they realized where they were. Luckily for them it appeared that Makarov and Laxus had slipped into the office awhile back but they would be out any minute because of the noise.

He ignored her angered look and greeted her with a smile. "Oh hey Lucy!"

Forgetting about his fight with his rivals, the fire dragon slayer approached his friend. The woman tried to kick him for being an idiot but he merely blocked her attack. He shifted her foot so she lost her balance and instantly the pink haired male placed her into his arms.

"Come on! I'm hungry! And you have to serve me!" He grinned as he carried her to a table.

"Like hell! And let go of me! Help! Somebody!"

She heard similar cries from Levy and she could only assume Gajeel got his hands on her again; Juvia cried out 'Gray-sama' and she didn't have to see to know she had him in a hug.

Natsu sat down and placed her on her lap as he told her all the dishes he wanted. She knew there was no use in arguing, especially when food was concerned, so she grumpily complied.

Eventually the Master and his grandson came back into guild hall and it didn't take a genius to know who caused the damage. The miscrients were forced to repair what they destroyed, all under the watchful eye of Erza.

Lucy would have considered it a victory if it weren't for the fact that the trio had scared their future customers away.

Once they were finished with the repairs, they were practically their only guests and Lucy had no choice but to serve Natsu as a guest.

He was pleased, she wasn't, no matter what Mira said.

* * *

Lucy had her head down as a depressing aura surrounded her; it was clear to the rest of the members that she was upset.

"What's wrong with Lucy?" Happy asked his adopted father. The human shrugged but his gaze reflected the concern he had for his other partner.

"We just received our share of the profits," Mira stated from behind and the two of them turned to see her wiping down a table. "We didn't get as much as we expected, mostly because we lost a lot of customers at the end."

The blue feline shot Natsu a dirty look and the dragon slayer rubbed the back of his neck in shame.

"It's not your fault." She smiled before it dimmed. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy and some of us did try our best." The silver haired beauty rolled her shoulder and the boys realized that their actions also affected other members of the family.

"But what's done is done. Lucy did take of care you today didn't she? Maybe you can do something for her to cheer her up don't you think?"

The boys pondered for a moment before Natsu got an idea. He whispered it to Happy and the cat looked at him strangely before he agreed.

They grinned and rushed out the doors.

* * *

The door opened and a moping blonde entered her apartment. She had been hoping she would have had enough to cover her rent, that way any future mission funds could have been used to buy other necessities. And much too her annoyance, she would have to double her missions to survive for this month.

She turned on the lights and nearly had a heart attack.

"WELCOME HOME!" Happy and Natsu cheered.

Normally she would have screamed at them to get out but at the moment she was distracted by their outfits. Both boys were wearing a maid uniform and they looked ridiculous.

Lucy laughed, "W-why? Why are you wearing those?"

"Well you took care of us today at the guild so we figured now we'd return the favor!" Natsu dragged the celestial mage to the table and sat her down. He pushed a quickly scribbled menu into her hands as the two stood on her side.

"What would you like to eat Master?" They inquired at the same time.

The former heiress burst into another round of giggles, causing her partners to look hurt.

She stopped laughing but smiled none the less. "I'm sorry. It's just," The girl stared at them with a beautiful expression. "Thank you. This was a nice surprise."

"Always the weirdo isn't she?" The fire mage muttered.

"Aye…"

Her eyebrow twitched but she held back on her irritation. "How about this?" She pushed the chair back and stood up. "Let's leave the cooking to the professionals and go to an actual restaurant instead."

"Aye sir!"

It only took Natsu and Happy two minutes to get ready and less than one to be out the door. Once their feet were on the pavement, the dragon slayer ducked and lifted the blonde into the air.

"NATSU!" The girl squealed before placing her hands on his shoulders to balance herself. "Put me down!" She smacked him for good measure.

"Ouch! Cut that out. I'm just trying to thank you! Besides, aren't you tired?"

The girl pouted, refusing to acknowledge that her feet were killing her. "Well, just thank me by paying for the meal. You guys never did leave a tip."

"I got another one for you!" Happy cut in.

"I don't want to hear anything from you, you shit-"

"-Don't wear a maid outfit around Natsu cause it turns him into a pervert!"

Both humans blushed after that and Natsu placed Lucy down in favor of them chasing the small feline. Happy only continued to chant 'he likes her' and 'she likes him' as he flew through the sky and his human partners could only response with curses.

An eventful day like this couldn't be possible without the magic of a maid dress.

* * *

**A/N: Again special thanks to DancesWithSeatbelts for being my betareader ^^ She's wonderful!**

* * *

**Thank you everyone for your kind words as always. I send hugs to-**

**KaUiA, Twishadowhunter, copdog, Yuyui Hime, DancesWithSeatbelts,**

**Hikari Dragoneel24, Angela-the-neko, fairyglitter101, brooke315,**

**switchlolly007, FlameDragonHime, SingingAngel327, MyFangirlingWays,**

**D (guest), NaluNom, Jennosaur, artistofthemind, and rebma726.**

**Thank you for your lovely comments and to anyone else who reads this story.**

**So originally this was supposed to be its own standing story and not part of the 'Let it Be Random' series but it didn't do well on Tumblr so I figured it can just go here instead. **

**Like I said in the last story, I would be giving away 2 fanfics as a thank you for those of you who are always taking the time to leave me with your thoughts. And now its time to announce the winners! **

**My 400th reviewer: **MyfangirlingWays

**And though the raffle system: **Yuyui Hime

**Congratulations and thank you for your support! I'll email you after work to discuss your prize.**

**THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Stay safe everyone and enjoy your weekend. ^^**

**-Your friend**

**Dark Shining Light**


	23. Last Night's Aftermath

Story 22- "Last Night's Aftermath"

Summary: Natsu wakes up with a massive headache and tries to comprehend what the hell happened last night.

Pairing: Nalu, hint of Gavy

Humor/Romance

Rated T (foul language)

Notes: Inspired by the movie "Hangover" and dedicated to nalufever/DanceswithSeatbelts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVE! Hope you enjoy your gift ^^

(According to a court of law, I do NOT Own any rights to the Fairy Tail franchise…and sadly its true)

* * *

"_Lucy do I have to wear the stupid suit?"_

"_Stop complaining!" The blonde called from the hotel's restroom as she finished applying her lipstick. "And it's not stupid!"_

_Seriously, she and the rest of their friends were getting ready in their rooms so why couldn't he just-_

"_But I don't like it!"_

_Lucy scrunched her nose in annoyance and glanced at herself in the mirror one last time before she flicked the lights off. She entered the king size bedroom she was sharing with her boyfriend but all his complaining was made her wonder why she just didn't share a room with the girls instead._

_She stopped a few feet away to admire her lover's form in the dark colored suit. Though the sleeves covered his arms and shoulders, his body still displayed that he was lean and strong._

_As Natsu finished adjusting his shirt in front of the bedroom mirror, he caught Lucy staring at him through the reflection. He turned around and gave her a large puppy-eyed look._

_She lightly blushed; though surprised she was caught, she still walked over to him. Once their toes touched, the male placed his large hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. In return, she planted her hands on his shoulders and gave him a quick look over._

"_I don't get why you're complaining." She commented. "You look great."_

"_But I thought we were here to party!" The pinked haired adult whined louder._

"_We're celebrating our graduation, idiot. So we have to look nice."_

"_But you always look nice." He pointed out. This caused his girlfriend's cheeks to flush in a rosy color. "So we really don't need to get ready for anything!"_

_Instantly, Lucy's bashful facial expression was replaced with one of annoyance. She lightly slapped his bicep. He merely yelped._

"_How about a little deal? If you stop complaining about the suit," His lover leaned in closer to his ear and whispered in a seductive manner, "I'll give you a little reward when everyone goes to bed."_

"_Hm…" Natsu stroked his chin and Lucy gave him an irritated look when he even had to 'think' about her proposal._

_He sent her a giant smile. "Nah!"_

_The woman's jaw dropped and before she could pull away for denying her, he crushed her against his chest. One hand slide to grope her ass and the other moved to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He lowered his face closer to hers and muttered, "I'd rather have that reward now." _

_She released loud squeal when he attacked her neck with kisses. The warm sensation caused Lucy's eyes to close as her breathing become heavy and uneven. "N-Natsu, n-no…. everyone's…. waiting."_

"_So?" His voice was muffled, due to his mouth latched onto her skin. "They can wait…"_

"_Or we can watch." A new voice interrupted them._

_The two hastily pulled away as their turned their attention to Cana. The brunette leaned against the doorway with a wine bottle already in her hand and a teasing smirk on her face. "Aww…. I didn't mean for you to stop."_

"_Are they almost done?" Gray called before he made his appearance into their bedroom._

"_We're more ready than you are you prevy popsicle!" _

_The black-haired male glanced down and noticed that in less than a second he lost the shirt he had on when he entered the room._

"_Shit! When did this happen!"_

"_I don't know but mama likes!" Cana laughed._

_As their friends exited to find his missing clothing, Lucy sighed and walked over to where her purse was resting. "Come on, let's go before they grow more impatient."_

"_I guess." Natsu grumbled before he laced his fingers with hers. He followed along and declared, "But we're not stopping at night!"_

* * *

Rays of morning light illuminated the hotel's penthouse; however, anyone passed out on the floor ignored it. Even the group of graduates failed to hear the main door open and close.

Natsu would have continued sleeping if something soft and purring wasn't right by his face.

Groaning, the male opened his eyes and blinked at the gray feline that was staring at him. At first, the human lacked any facial expression. It was only when his felt his headache that he was able to react. He lifted himself up; his movement startled the cat and with a hand holding his throbbing head, he was able to scan the room.

What was once a luxury room envied by many was now a nightmare for any resident.

Just in the living room alone were about a dozen cats wandering or sleeping. Besides his friends on the floor were party cups and real swords. Some of the weapons were nailed into the walls. Bras hung together as if they were room decorations and scribbled on the wall were a variety of random words, written in pen and ketchup. Some of the furniture was flipped over, others were burned; their 50" inch televisions were split in half, and in the middle of the hallway was an ice cream cart.

So many things wrong and yet Natsu couldn't take any of it in.

Moaning a little louder, he buried his face into his hands as he tried to make sense of his situation.

'_Shit…. what happened? Where the fuck am I? Argh….'_

He vaguely remembered that Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Levy, Cana, Lucy and himself were celebrating something and they went to Las Vegas and somehow they got a penthouse. He figured Lucy had something to do with it but he couldn't really say.

The male sat for another minute, unaware that one of his roommates was in the restroom until he came out screaming.

Gray dashed out and accidentally kicked Gajeel, who was sleeping a few steps away from the bathroom door.

"WHAT THE FUCK-!"

"THERE'S A FUCKING PANTHER IN THERE!"

Gajeel and Natsu merely stared at him.

"Gray…" The redhead on the opposite room spoke; her voice hoarse and a dark aura surrounded her, clearly upset from being woken up. "If this is a prank-"

"I'm not fucking joking! Check it out yourself!"

"Let me see." Gajeel shoved the shorter male to the side as he entered. In two seconds he was out. He slammed the restroom door shut and laughed.

"He's not kidding. There's a living panther in there!"

"Seriously?!" Despite his throbbing head, Natsu sprang up eagerly. "I'm gonna tell Lucy!"

The sun-kissed skinned graduate hopped over the swords and any trash as he made his way to the bedroom he and Lucy were supposed to be sharing.

Speaking of which, why wasn't he sleeping next to her? He tried to recall the last time he saw her and only remembered a slight glimpse of last night.

They were in their room; he recalls they were giggling and there was a lot of making out. Were they even wearing clothes?

He looked down and saw he was shirtless but still had pants on.

His head began to pound again. As he tried to force more of the memory to play, he found that he couldn't. The last thing he remembered was getting intimate with Lucy before their door had been slammed open.

* * *

"Oh no…." Levy grumbled as she stared at the room. "The hotel is going to kill us."

"Ghihihi. You just had to write on the walls." Her boyfriend teased from the side.

The smaller adult gaped at him. "I would never-"

"Ah come on shrimp! Some of these words are in Latin and you know as much as I do that you're the only who knows it!"

Levy blushed in response. The long-haired male looked around the room. "And what's with all the fucking cats!"

Meanwhile, Erza was frozen to her seat as her gaze was fixed on her left hand. "A-a-a-th-th-there's-a-a-a"

Cana, with a beer can in her hand, bounced next to the flushing redhead and glanced over her shoulder. "What's got you so- WOAH!" The brunette laughed. "ERZA GOT HITCHED!"

"WHAT?!"

Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded before they quickly looked at their own left hand to make sure there wasn't a matching ring. Much to their relief, there wasn't.

"I-this-" Her fiery temper took over; she grabbed a sword and waved it in the air. "I WILL SLAY THE BEAST WHO DARED TO BESMIRCH ME!"

As the oldest vowed to inflict numerous pain on the man who wed her without her permission, Gray 'shoo'ed a cat off the couch and took the seat for himself.

He laid down, only for his head to crush a crumpled piece of paper. He pulled the note from underneath him and moved it in front of his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to read but when his eyes skimmed the end of the paper, he couldn't help but ask, "Who's Juvia?"

No one responded as everyone was lost in their own minds, trying to recall the events from last night. Before they could try to force themselves to remember further, they heard heavy stomps going in their direction.

Natsu marched into the room; his eyes were blazing and a furious look overtook his normal goofy smile. He pointed at them and snarled.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU BASTARDS TOOK MY LUCY!"

* * *

**A/N: MAJOR THANKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SO KIND TO LEAVE ME REVIEWS WHILE I WAS AWAY! THANK YOU GUYS!**

**Gh0st's buddy, Hikari Dragneel24, OgaxHilda, DancesWithDeatbelts,**

**Yuyui Hime, Twishadowhunter, asian-simbae, fairyglitter101,**

**Yumi-kii, SingingAngel327, Sydneste, J.C, AnimexFreakz 0.o,**

**Kelp-it-up, ShadowQueen26, EtherealTulip, Shieru, and PinkFireandGoldenStars**

**There are a few other people who I need to thank for their reviews on my other stories but unfortunately I'm limited on time at the moment so I'll thank them when I post my next story. **

* * *

**So its been a long time and I apologize for not posting something sooner. I won't list all my reasons but I will say that it seems like my life is coming together and I should be writing more frequently. If I'm not writing, I'm probably posting art on my tumblr account: its ff-darkshininglight if you're interested.**

**Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me; whether it was with emails, favorites/follows, and/or reviews. They all mean a lot to me. I know I thank my reviewers a lot and that's because I see them as friends communicating with me. Favorites/Follows are nice, but I feel like I'm dead when that happens you know? Like, anyone can favorite/follow a story, whether it was posted yesterday or 10 years ago. But when someone leaves a review for a story that was posted months ago, I feel like they're telling me "hey, I know you're still out there so I'm writing you a message cause I know you'll see it," and it means a lot.**

**I'll stop rambling. As always, stay safe everyone. **

**I hope you enjoy the holidays and spend it with your loved ones.**

**Your friend,**

**Dark Shining Light**


	24. Slayer

"Slayer"

Summary: As Natsu's partner, Lucy vows to make him the best slayer out there.

Pairing: Natsu and Lucy

Romance/Friendship

Rated K+

Notes: Secret Santa gift to the amazing x-benihime. Hope you enjoy it Hanna ^^

(According to a court of law, I do NOT own any rights to the Fairy Tail franchise…and sadly its true)

* * *

An annoying beep echoed within the silent bedroom. The individual currently lying in bed groaned and rubbed her head against the pillow. When her eyes finally opened, she glared at the device that disturbed her sleep and turned it off.

As she began to stretch, thunderous footsteps were heard before her door was slammed open and a pink haired man stood under the doorway.

"Come on Lucy! Time's a wasting!"

Natsu, the young fire mage responsible for probably putting another dent in her wall, looked at her expectantly.

She sent him a tired look. "Sheesh, I'm going."

The boy shot her a quick grin before he exited, slamming her door behind him. The nineteen-year old girl merely cupped her face, and released an irritated moan. "What am I going to do with that idiot," She mumbled.

After a few minutes, she exited her bedroom in a workout outfit and with golden keys dangling from her hip; they were necessary for her magic. The blond briefly paused by Natsu's room to make sure that their third companion was sound asleep. She peeked inside and smiled gently when she heard the small purrs.

Lucy entered the kitchen; next to the fridge was her partner, who was doing a few of the stretches she taught him.

"Finally."

She waved him off of. "Yeah yeah, let me just make our shakes and we'll get started."

While mixing the ingredients, Lucy made sure to put tabasco sauce in Natsu's drink, much to her dismay. He merely called her a weirdo for not seeing why a protein shake doesn't taste good with it.

Once her companion was outside, she locked the front door to their apartment, and made her way to him. The sun was barely rising as the two made their way to their training grounds.

"Do we really need to go to the guild today?" The dragon slayer pouted as he chugged his morning shake in a couple of seconds.

"It won't be so bad. Today we have one hour of lecture and the rest of the time we'll be sparing."

"Now that's more like it!" Natsu cheered. "Seriously, it's so boring."

"Well…" The girl drawled as she took a sip of her drink. "Maybe if you listened instead of dozing off, you'd learn something and you wouldn't think it was so boring."

"But that's why I have you." He turned to her at her with a concentrated expression. "I like the stuff you teach me."

A light blush appeared on her cheeks and she looked away to avoid her face from getting any redder.

"Idiot," She muttered embarrassingly, "where do you think I learn the stuff to teach you…."

"Huh?" The slayer blinked. "Wait really? I don't know. You're so smart I just thought it came from your head."

Her mouth curved into a shy grin and her heartbeat increased its speed by a tiny bit. "Thanks."

There was no talking; Lucy was too caught up in her best friend's words that she failed to notice how impatient he was getting.

"Argh!"

Natsu's sudden outburst startled the girl. "This is taking so long!" He locked his gaze with hers and gave her a giant smile. "Let's start training now." He squatted in front of her. "Hop on! I'll carry you to our spot!"

"Are you sure?" She inquired before wrapping her arms around his neck. Leave it to Natsu to make anything into training exercises.

"Well duh. This only counts if I carry enough weight. Thankfully you're heavy enough for me to use as training."

"IDIOT!"

She slapped the side of his head, making him wince. "I'm not that heavy! Just for that, you're running 200 laps when we get there!"

The male snickered as he jogged with her on his back. "Aye sir!"

(scene change)

After returning to their home, the duo showered, and gave their blue cat a farewell as they left to their next destination: the guild.

"It's not fair." Natsu pouted as he looked over his shoulder; their feline was still looking outside their apartment's window with a heartbroken expression. "Happy should be allowed to come with us. He's part of the team."

"But he's not a student." Lucy pointed out as they continued to walk forward. "Besides, you hardly pay attention as it is. Having Happy would not only distract you but everyone else."

"That's not true! The guild would be a lot better if Happy was in it."

"Yeah…and more troublesome." The girl added but it appeared that Natsu was into deep thought that he didn't hear her. She watched his concentrated face with amusement, wondering what got her best friend so quiet.

Then his eyes lit up and a smile formed on his face. "Hey Lucy! Happy should be a teacher!"

The busty blonde nearly tripped over an imaginary rock for that statement. "That stupid cat! No way!"

"Don't call him stupid!" The tone in his voice left no room for argument. Lucy winced when she remembered how sensitive Natsu is to that word. He could handle her calling him an idiot because that was the equivalent of him calling her a weirdo. He was okay when she used it on Happy if Happy was present with them, so Natsu could see if his third partner was offended. Happy never was.

But, she realized, hearing someone call someone else stupid when they weren't there did look like they were talking bad behind their back. And the last thing she wanted was to make Natsu think she didn't like their friend.

Sensing the awkwardness that now lingered between them, the tan-skinned slayer quickly added, "Plus imagine all the cool stuff he would teach us!"

Like magic, a tiny grin escaped past her lips. "Yeah…we would learn the history of fish for the rest of the year."

Natsu laughed; her precious comment long forgotten. "Hey, it's way better than hearing

Yahihi talk about what can't be food!"

"It's actually Yajima and some of that stuff is really important!" His partner lectured and for the rest of their walk, they ended up arguing which mushrooms were poisonous and which ones were okay to eat.

The guild was now in their line of vision. It was a giant castle like building with the words "Fairy Tail" displayed over the entrance. Flags of their insignia hung from the sides of the wall and below the enormous bell hung that same logo, only as a banner.

As they made it to the guild, their stomachs demanded breakfast and both agreed it was time to hit up the cafeteria. They passed the lobby, filled with students and staff, and maneuvered through other classmates in the hall.

Many of their generation were looking at the request wall and Natsu was tempted to snatch as many as he could before they grab breakfast. However, after some tugging and a lot of persuasion, Lucy convinced her partner to wait until after they eat because the process of getting those missions now would take away some of their morning.

The duo finally made it to the cafeteria; it was a large room with wooden floors, the tables centered in the middle and vendors close to the walls. The female chose to wait in the shortest line to grab a fruit smoothie and muffin. On the other hand, the fire mage had gone to where they served the most food.

Once the busty woman grabbed her food, her eyes scanned the room and finally landed on the petite blue-haired girl that reserved their usual table. As she made her way to her, she noticed that it wasn't the iron slayer sitting next to her like it should have been; instead it was another blue haired girl.

"Morning Levy-chan!" The blond greeted as she took her seat.

"Morning Lu-chan!" Levy smiled back before waving a hand to the other female. "This is Juvia; she's a new student. Erza was supposed to give her a tour but something came up so I'm going to show her around when classes start."

"Juvia apologizes if she is taking Levy's time away from Lucy-san." The new girl bowed and the other two students waved their arms frantically.

"That's not necessary!"

"And you're not taking away anyone's time!"

She raised her head, though still looking uncertain. "Juvia still apologizes."

Lucy smiled awkwardly. "Really, you shouldn't. After all you've done nothing wrong." She turned her head to friend. "I'm surprised Gajeel isn't with you."

The script mage puffed her cheeks. "That jerk. He left me to walk by myself since he wanted to spend a few more extra minutes with Lily."

"Men and their cats." Lucy sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if they'd rather partner with them than us."

"You said it Lu."

"Partners?" Juvia blinked. Then her cheeks reddened. "As in, Levy-san's and Lucy-san's, romantic partners?"

The two straight-A students also blushed; steam practically escaped from their ears from her implication.

"NO!"

"NEVER!"

"When we say, we're referring to our slayers." The red on Lucy's cheeks only brightened after her sentence. "Not like, _our_, as if they're our boyfriends, cause you know, that'd be weird."

Juvia titled her head. "Then what does Lucy-san mean?"

Levy released her breath; traces of her blush still lingered on her cheeks. "What Lu-chan means is these slayers are our partners but not in a romantic sense."

"Yeah." The blonde added. "So, in our academy, everyone's a mage. But there are some students who are gifted with a ridiculous amount of magic. They practically have more magic than the staff themselves and we call them slayers. And though they're radiating with magic, most of them lack control. This is where people like us," She points to the smaller blue haired student and herself, "come in.

"Though we're also students, we can control our magic really well. Guild Master Makarov asks students who know how to control their magic to assist slayers in controlling their own."

Juvia's mouth dropped open but admiration twinkled in her eyes. "Does that mean Levy-san and Lucy-san are very powerful?"

Both classmates felt their faces warm up again, this time with bashfulness.

"Well-"

"Maybe-"

"They're strong alright!" A new voice chimed. The three girls turned their attention to someone whose face was covered by a mountain of plates. He placed them down onto the table before taking a seat next to Lucy.

Natsu smiled brightly as he commented further. "Don't get on Lucy's bad side though; her Lucy-kick is deadly," He grimaced as he recalled the feeling of that move. "And painful."

Normally the girl would have stated that he deserved but it seemed like she was more distracted with the pile of food. "Natsu, how did you pay for all this?"

The male grinned sheepishly. "Ah-well, we had money saved so-"

"YOU USED OUR RENT MONEY DIDN'T YOU!"

(Scene Change)

The day went by quickly; it could be because she was too concentrated on her match that she was startled when their instructor announced "Okay, that's enough for today. Class dismissed."

She turned to Sagittarius, one of her many spirits that she calls from her golden keys and thanked him for his hard work before closing his gate. Lucy turned to her opponent and gave her a big smile. "That was a great match Cana."

"Hell yeah it was!" Cana, a curvy brunette with breasts almost as large as Lucy's, replied before wrapping an arm around her classmate's shoulder. "It's a shame we're not partners. We'd rule this school together. Titty power!"

In a swift motion, the brown haired woman groped her friend's breasts from behind.

The blond yelped as she pushed away from her grabby hands. "Cana!"

But the card mage merely laughed and wiped away an imagery tear. "You are too easy! Maybe I should steal you away from Natsu while he's busy."

At that comment, Lucy turned her head to see her partner surrounded by classmates, some even being the opponents that were defeated with a single punch. She heard words of praise directed at him for the great matches he put out. Natsu seemed to soak it all in; a giant smile beaming on his face as he laughed at their commentary.

Her lips curved into a gentle smile. Days when her classmates stood five feet away from the slayer resurfaced in her mind and she was grateful that they weren't looking at him with timid stares anymore.

The slightly darker skinned woman stared at the direction Lucy was looking in. A small smirk made its way across her lips. "Never thought I'd see the day where Natsu Dragneel was praised for his fights. You've really been an influence on him."

"Huh?" Lucy only gaped with a hint of red on her cheeks.

Cana laughed. "Come on!" She wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and began to lead her outside the classroom. "We can talk about it over a drink."

"Thanks but I think I'll start heading off to the request board." The brown eyed blond declined politely. "I need a good mission that's going to help pay my rent."

"Suit yourself." They stopped once they were in the hall. Cana waved goodbye. "See yea around."

"Bye Cana!"

Just as Lucy was about to head in the request board's direction, a loud crash from behind startled her. She yelped before quickly turning around. On the wall that divided the classroom and hall was a human sized hole; the floor was covered in debris and on the opposite side was a beaten classmate, passed out in the dent he created.

It doesn't take a genius to see that he had been punched through the wall and Lucy knew there was only one person in their class that could do that.

She passed by the shocked students and marched into their classroom. Sure enough, the pink haired male stood with his narrowed eyes locked on the individual he tossed out. However, once he saw that he wasn't getting up, the flame on his fist diminished.

With slight hesitation, the girl took two steps. He must have heard her footsteps because no sooner than she took them, his head snapped in her direction. The fierce look in his eyes were replaced with shock before they reverted back to their original innocent gleam.

"Hey Lucy!"

"Natsu, what did you do!" She pointed at the wall so he couldn't ask her 'do what?'

"Nothing! He deserved it!"

Before she could demand a reasonable explanation, Natsu had already taken her hand into his and was leading her out of the classmate.

"Come on! Let's go on another mission! That rent isn't going to pay itself!"

She wanted to open her mouth and argue but she realized she couldn't really complain when they did need funds to afford their home.

Lucy huffed but when she noticed that her partner was back to his smiling self, she released a tiny grin.

They were partners, and that meant tolerating any crazy situation that her best friend put her though. And for every adventure he took her on, she knew it only influenced the promise she made to him.

She vowed to make him the best slayer, and that's what she was going to do.

* * *

**A/N: HEY GUYS! Hope you enjoyed this story. I'm keeping it short and simple since I have to leave to work in a bit.**

**AU's one-shot can be hard to follow so anyone want a bonus chapter? Natsu's POV and you'll see why he punched that student out. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'll post names next chapter, along with anyone who reviews this story.**

**Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and if I don't post something soon, Happy New Year.**

**Your friend,**

**Dark Shining Light**

**(P.S. I'm really sorry this is such a quick note; it feels really rushed, especially for the holiday season. Sorry!)**


End file.
